


NEO FREE

by ImagineGladions



Series: Neo Blue Breathing [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: But the Reader has a personality so pick one of the two that's closer to you, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Nanase!Reader, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Tachibana!Reader, literally the slowest burnnnn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-03-06 19:56:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 83,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13418526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineGladions/pseuds/ImagineGladions
Summary: Nanase Ako's been in love with Matsuoka Rin since grade school but her admiration didn't stop him from leaving. There are mixed feelings when he returns from Australia for her brother. Unfortunately for her, it gets much worse before it gets any better.Tachibana Ayumu, on the other hand, likes to forget that loving Yamazaki Sousuke ever happened in her past. She's alright with everything she's always had, her family, swimming, and her best friend. That is... until her past comes back to haunt her like the clown from IT.





	1. Episode 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just want to say that I got a lot of help from todokori-kun on tumblr who practically co-wrote this fic with me. I miss her lots and we had great times going through this fic together which is why this is dedicated to her. I'll still be here if you ever come back, hun. <3
> 
>  
> 
> I know we can achieve the future we want to believe in.  
> The days lost to our fears will become our potential - a Neo Free.  
> \- Neo Blue Breathing (Nobunaga Shimazaki, Suzuki Tatsuhisa, Mamoru Miyano)

**EPISODE 1**

_\- Sano, Elementary School -_

* * *

  

Ayumu looked down at her small hand linked with the hand of her best friend. She hasn’t been in Sano for too long but it’s long enough that she has stopped feeling the sting of not being with her brother, her twin. She knew that when she was to be sent to their grandmother that she would be going alone. The twins were too young for the trip and her brother, Makoto, would never agree to being parted from his beloved Haru-chan. She wonders how the younger twins are doing as she is dragged out of the snow and into a warm building. She rolled her eyes. 

Of course it’s a swim club. It’s _always_ a Swim Club.

Matsuoka Rin grinned at her toothily, nudging his head towards another boy with dark hair swimming laps of the Butterfly stroke of all things in the pool. 

“Sou!” Rin said - well, yelled but Rin always sounds like he’s yelling - and Ayumu gasped a little realizing that this must be the legendary Sousuke that Rin keeps talking about. “Sou, I brought that girl I met at recess.”

The dark haired boy - Yamazaki Sousuke - got out of the pool and regarded the newcomer with cold eyes that almost made Ayumu want to shiver. Underneath the scowl, Ayumu saw a spark of affection for Rin as he continued to drag her towards the terrifying butterfly swimmer.

Rin shoved Ayumu in front of him and encouraged her to say something. “Hi, I’m Tachibana Ayumu.” She extended a hand towards the taller boy, wishing she was elsewhere reading instead of in this awkward situation. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot from Rin.”

Sousuke stared at her extended hand and slowly shook it. “Yeah.” He said blandly in response. “Do you swim?” He asked, his eyes pointed behind Ayumu to - who she assumed was - Rin. The other boy must have encouraged him to say more.

“I did, back home.” She admitted, looking at the pool. “My brother and I swim backstroke. His best friend and his sister swim freestyle. And their other friend swims breaststroke.” She smiled, remembering them and their days spent swimming at the Iwatobi Swim Club fondly.

Rin perked up behind her and rounded her so he stood in front of her next to Sousuke. “You had a team. You didn’t tell me that! What are their names, maybe I met them in a swim meet.” He grinned.

Ayumu blinked at Rin and his friend and smiled widely, proud to be able to call the people at Iwatobi her friends. “My brother is Tachibana Makoto and his friends are Nanase Haru-chan, Nanase Ako-chan, and Hazuki Nagisa-chan!”

Rin and Sousuke blinked.

“Na-Nanase??”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, High School -_  

* * *

 

Tachibana Ayumu was a little bit stuck.

 

She wasn’t stuck in the literal sense, more the figurative sense. She sighed, just thinking about the predicament made her lose a bit of her sanity.

The what of the problem? The Swim Club. Because, as always, all problems in Ayumu’s life went back to swimming in one way or another. It’s been a thorn on her side for two years since graduating from Middle School. Those days swimming with her friends were great days and although she wasn’t as passionate about swimming as they were Ayumu was good at what she did. So, finding out there wasn’t a swim club in Iwatobi’s High School department contributed to a great deal of Ayumu’s emotional distress.

It’s not like they didn’t have enough members to make one. Ayumu and her twin were two and the Nanase siblings would make them four! The perfect number to start a swim club.

The who of the problem? Nanase Haruka. Because, as always, their world - the four of them and even Nagisa and Rin sometimes - revolved around the walking contradiction named Nanase Haruka. Ever since he stopped swimming in the middle of, well, Middle School everyone seemed to let go of swimming altogether. Nagisa left. Mako stopped. Even Asahi and Ikuya went away eventually. The only ones still swimming were Ayumu and Ako.

The only _normal_ thing in Tachibana Ayumu’s life? Nanase Ako.

It’s a shame the Nanases didn’t have any more children because a Tachibana without a Nanase to watch over and be watched over by was as unfathomable as Haru without water. Thankfully, unlike her sometimes useless sometimes useful brother, Ako was the definition of consistent.

Like today, Ayumu found Ako practicing in the ocean early that morning with a duffle bag sitting in the sand not too far from her. And even though the water was cold she maintained her two hour work out and probably ran four times around the neighborhood beforehand. Luckily for Ayumu, she was wearing her warmer set of swim gear so she probably won’t catch a cold but she will have to find a swim club with a heater for the colder seasons because left unattended like this Ako always chooses swimming over the possibility of catching a cold.

Ayumu, knowing this, brought two thermoses of warm soup that day and walked with Ako to school.

They part ways when classes start because, unlike Haru and Mako, Ayumu is older than Ako so Ako goes to her class alone while Ayumu heads to the class she shares with her twin and Ako’s older brother.

When Ayumu gets there she levels Haru with an ‘ _oh seriously?_ ’ look. “Ako was swimming in the ocean today.”

Haru perked at the mention of the ocean before turning to Makoto.

Ayumu turned and left them to go to her seat, sighing when she heard the telltale shouts of her twin telling Haru he is under no circumstances to swim in the freezing water. It’s a relief when the teacher comes in and tells them that class will commence shortly. She refuses to even glance at Haru because he is no doubt ignoring everything and staring out of the window to his beloved ocean. His beloved _water_.

Seriously, if Ayumu’s brother knew better, he’d have lost all hope at being first in Haru’s heart. But, Tachibana Makoto was kind of a dumbass in regards to Haru, because he’s not only alright with this but is even happy to let a non-living non-coherent mass made up of hydrogen and oxygen be placed above him on Haru’s list of priorities.

When she says this to Ako at lunch Ako just smiles and laughs because that’s Ako for you, she’d rather laugh than do anything negative. “Ayu-chan, you know that’s not true. Haru loves water.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “But he definitely loves Makoto more!”

Before Ayumu could say anything about it, they both are on the roof staring open-mouthed as Hazuki Nagisa runs over to them with his arms open wide.

“You-” Ako blinked up at the blonde in disbelief. “You’re _here_.” She almost shrieked. And Ayumu would agree but she’s temporarily lost the ability to speak.

Nagisa grinned at the younger Nanase. “Ako-chan, starting today, we’re classmates again! So, let’s form a swim club!”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Elementary School -_

* * *

 

“Nagisa! Stop dragging me, I was almost done.” Ako frowned as she carefully made her way to the pool. For all of Nagisa’s running about she actually was concerned about slipping up and breaking something. Her slowing down made Nagisa go a bit slower but he still hastily brought her over to Makoto’s side just in time for Ako to see Haru at the starting block next to someone new. 

Ako’s mouth dropped open as Makoto called out for them to start. “Onii-chan?” She said in a hushed voice watching as the newcomer swam almost at the same speed at Haru. Ako’s observant eyes noted that his movements while not as fluent as Haru’s were more consistent. He favored a certain technique and it showed in his strong turns. By the time they both reach the end Ako is nearly breathless with the need to know just who this kid is.

Makoto moved to pull Haru out of the water as usual and it made Ako ache to have Ayumu by her side again. “Nobody can beat you when you’re in the water, Haru-chan.” He says and Haru replies with his usual “stop calling me -chan already” but Ako’s eyes remain on the redhead still floating in the water. She almost doesn’t notice that he’s speaking to Haru.

“You’re as fast as the rumors said.” The kid said as he leaned on the floating lines. “What’s your time?” He asked and Ako bit back a laugh.

Haru turned away but Ako could tell he was the slightest bit curious about him. “I don’t care about time.”

The kid, Ako shouldn’t really call him that since he’s obviously older than her, looked shocked for a moment before his face split into a wide grin.

From the moment Matsuoka Rin laughed and asked her brother to form a relay with him, Nanase Ako was undeniably over the moon and past the stars in love.

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

Nanase Ako was stuck.

 

Not in the figurative sense, no. But very literally _stuck on her chair_. It’s lucky that it was about time for classes to be over because she would hate to miss lunch just because her skirt decided to be joined in unholy collusion with a screw in her chair.

The who of the problem? Hazuki Nagisa. Ako’s best friend from elementary and, for a very brief time, Middle School was assigned the seat behind her and managed to prank her on his very first day back. And really, she’d be pretty _screwed_ if Rei hadn’t been around.

Haha, screwed. Because she’s stuck on a screw.

“Nagisa wants to form a swim team.” Ako said, feeling more than seeing Rei perking up at the mention of swimming. Honestly, Ako was pretty sure Rei wanted to swim but couldn’t because he couldn’t see how the science could ever apply to such an unreasonable sport.

Rei looked up at Ako from where he was undoing the screw with a screwdriver he found who knows where. Knowing Rei, he probably had one in his backpack just in case. “I thought you loved swimming, why not do it?” He asked.

Ako sighed. “Only three people would actually agree to it.” She eyed Rei hopefully. “You know, my offer to teach you to swim still stands-” 

“I appreciate it but you know I can’t swim.” His nose crinkled, a clear sign he was uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking.

Ako could see that he was wearing down though so she decided to take up that particular gauntlet another day. “I’m glad Nagisa is back, he might be able to get Haru off his ass.” She sighed.

“No offence, Ako-san. But, you’re his sister and you couldn’t do it so I highly doubt Hazuki-san can.” Rei stated matter-of-factly.

Ako hit him lightly on the head. “Stop calling me _-san_. It’s just Ako. We’ve been friends for years you dummy.”

A hard knock on the classroom door signalled the arrival of Tachibana Ayumu. Ako smiled at her, saying with her eyes what she didn’t want to say aloud. Ayumu nodded, getting the gist of it. “Nagisa, huh?” She sighed. “We better hurry if we want to stop them before they commit the lofty crime of trespassing.”

“I’m almost out, right Rei?” Ako looked down at the bespectacled boy and grinned.

Rei smiled back at her as the screw came loose and she was freed. “I do not advise trespassing but I know you’ll do whatever you want so… stay safe, Ako.”

Ako cooed at his affection and gave him a quick hug in thanks. “Thank you, Rei. You really are the best friend I could ever have.” She hurriedly looked at Ayumu and laughed. “Well, guy best friend. I’ll see you!” She waved bolting out the door with Ayumu in tow.

Rei sighed and waved regardless of the fact that he could already see Ako and Ayumu rushing through the gates of the school. “Bye, Ako.” He muttered.

Ako and Ayumu caught sight of the boys just as they entered the corpse of what once was Iwatobi’s Swim Club. Ako stared up at it, huffing to release the pent up energy. She was a bit of a scaredy cat. It’s not as bad as Makoto’s fear of almost anything scary but she can be a tad jumpy in dark places which is why she never watches horror films. Oddly enough, Ayumu didn’t seem to be as scared.

“I really would rather not go in.” Ako sighed. “But-”

“Onii-chan might need help.” Ayumu grinned, predicting what Ako would say. “Let’s go save them.” She said, walking through the double doors and leading the way into the abandoned swim club

With one last deep breath, Ako followed her.

It was a mistake. The place looked like the worst kind of horror show. More than a horror show, it looked like one of those zombie apocalypse films where everything is abandoned but not abandoned enough that you can’t live in it. And just as you become comfortable a zombie pops out to eat your brain.

But nothing, no horror or zombie film, could ever match the dark and painful stab that Ako felt as she watched Matsuoka Rin stomp past her with cold indifferent eyes.

“Ri-” Ako turned around and reached out. “Rin?”

For a moment, Rin stopped and turned to look at her from the corner of his eye. Ayumu could have sworn that in that moment it looked like he was going to tear up but then his face became cold again as he stared at Ayumu with disdain. “Still following her around like a dumb puppy. It’s pathetic.” He turned back around to leave. “You’re just like your brother.”

Ayumu wanted to scream, to shove Matsuoka Rin for not just insulting Makoto but for hurting Ako. But, she was frozen by the look of defeat in Ako’s eyes that continued to watch as her first love walked away.

“It’s like… I mean I knew all along that we had nothing. But, Ayu-” Ayumu pulled her close to her side and started walking out, if anyone was to be punished for trespassing she’d let it be Nagisa but she couldn’t let Ako cry like this in public.

“Let’s go, Ako.” She said, guiding them back to their homes. “Let’s go home, we’ll sort it out tomorrow.

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Middle School -_

* * *

 

Shiina Asahi is… well, he’s pretty annoying to be honest.

 

Ako is thrilled to have Ayumu back, but since she came back from Sano it appears she’s been busy writing letters to a guy she met. She says it’s a friend of Rin’s and Rin has said he met Ayumu back in Sano but neither of them mentioned just who this friend was. Ako didn’t like to assume things but she recognized the happy glow fading into sad melancholy in Ayumu’s disposition. It’s the face of someone who’d met their first love and has to cope with being far away from them.

It kind of makes Ako want to write to Rin.

Ako shakes her head, there’s no way she’s even important enough to Rin for her to warrant any kind of reply. She and him were never close. He only ever wanted to talk to Haru regardless of how much faster Ako was compared to all the other girls in her bracket. Since Nagisa left in the middle of their second year, all Ako had now was Ayumu and Haru’s new team. 

“Oh! It’s megane guy!”

Ako winced and rushed over to where Asahi was yet again causing a ruckus. “Asahi, be quiet.” She said as she found him eagerly chatting with a boy her age holding a book about swimming. “Oh, hi.”

“Hello.” The boy with the swimming book waved shyly.

“Hey, why are you so quiet, megane? You were just scolding me for being loud in the library and for calling you a megane.” Asahi tilted his head.

Ako placed a hand over Asahi’s mouth before he could say anything else and smiled apologetically at the boy. “I’m sorry about him. He means well. He’s just very enthusiastic.” She said, taking a closer look at the boy. Her eyes widened. “Ryugazaki-kun? Are you Ryugazaki Rei from my class in Iwatobi?” She grinned.

Rei’s face heated up at her recognition. “Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you. Nanase… Akio-san, right?”

“Ako. You can call me Ako.” Ako shrugged. “Akio is a boy name.”

Rei thought about it before nodding. “Alright, Nanase Ako-san.”

Ako stared at him and laughed. “I’m going to be your friend so you should just drop the san right now. Call me Ako.” She insisted.

“Ako.” Rei said like he was testing it. “You may call me… Rei.”

“Rei.” She nodded approvingly. “Pleasure to finally meet you.”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Nanase House -_

* * *

 

Ayumu made sure that for that day Ako wasn’t around the boys. It was the right call because the boys talked about nothing but Rin all day. 

As expected, Ayumu found Ako in the ocean that morning but she stopped swimming earlier than normal so she got to school earlier than even Rei who was the earliest in her class. Ayumu found herself sitting in the grass with the boys that day for lunch while Rei went to the cafeteria with Ako.

From the corner of her eye, Ayumu spotted a familiar burst of red violet hair.

The appearance of Matsuoka Gou brought a stormy feeling to her heart. Unfortunately, they won’t be free from the issue of Matsuoka Rin just yet.

That is how Ayumu ends up sleeping over at Ako’s house that night.

Fortunately for her, she and Ako decide to go down for snacks at the exact time that Makoto makes the dumb decision to suggest going to Samezuka Academy at night to confront Rin. Ako freezes at the mere mention of his name and Ayumu’s grip on her arm tightens as they both walk towards the source of the noise.

Upon spotting his younger sister in the hallway, Haru’s eyes fill with the force only an older brother has and he answers loudly.

“No.”

Nagisa and Makoto deflate as Ayumu fights the urge to punch them both in the face. For the two more sensitive guys in the group they sure can be insensitive at the wrong time. As if it wasn’t bad enough, Nagisa and Makoto continue to push even as Haru uses the need to dry his hair to block out their whining.

“Let’s visit Samezuka Academy!” Nagisa whined.

“Don’t you want to see Rin?” Makoto asked.

Haru leveled a glare at the both of them. “We saw him yesterday.” He snarked, glancing over at Ako. The siblings stared at each other for a long time until Haru finished drying his hair. Ako smoothly entered the room holding Haru’s dry clothes and a towel, taking his shorter towel to dry.

Ayumu took this time to look at Makoto and finds him making a face she doesn’t like. Makoto is acting now and he looks like he’s about use the biggest weapon in his arsenal.

“Here I was thinking you could finally swim if you came.” He said, smirking victoriously at Ayumu. “Samezuka is supposed to have an… _indoor pool_.”

Ayumu wishes he could get mad at her twin. There’s no arguing with Haru when there’s a _pool_ involved.

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Middle School -_

* * *

 

Ayumu doesn’t know it, but Ako was there when **it** happened.

 

In the middle of their Middle School years Rin had returned to Iwatobi for a visit. It was on one of the better days they had. Ako was starting to make friends at the swim club. She and Ayumu were gaining a reputation for how fast they were. Ikuya and Asahi had welcomed the younger girl into their fold. And, for once, the Tachibana twins decided that they would go home ahead of their respective Nanases leaving the Nanase siblings to walk home together. 

“We should do this more often, Nii.” Ako smiled, her hand reaching out to cling to Haru’s arm.

Haru smiled down at his sister, one of those rare ones where she could see his teeth peeking out a bit, and nodded. “We’ll get ice cream together every friday, just us.”

Ako gasped. “Really?” She asked, pulling on Haru’s shirt excitedly.

“Yeah.” Haru almost laughed but he didn’t. It was a good day, but it wasn’t _that_ good. “I promise.” He said, raising his pinky for Ako to curl around her own.

Their pinkies were still curled together by the time the train passed and they saw Rin on the other side of the tracks.

Ako’s hand left Haru’s shirt and she ran over the tracks, nearly tripping in her attempt to get to Rin. “Rin! You’re back!” She shouted, smacking into the taller boy’s chest and wrapping her arms around him. “I- we missed you a lot.”

Rin looked down at the younger girl and cracked a small but genuine smile as he patted her head with one hand and her back with the other. “I missed you too, Ako.” He grinned.

Ako noted that his teeth were becoming pretty sharp, like a shark. “I’m glad.” Her lower lip wobbled as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Welcome home, Rin.”

Like a gunshot, the moment Haru spoke Rin became stiff and pried himself away from Ako. “Haru.” He said, staring at the older Nanase. “Let’s race.”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

  

If there was one thing that could make Ako happy during this trip, it was to swim. So, of course, the moment the pool was clear and night had fallen both Nanases stripped off their school uniforms and emerged fully prepared to dive into the pool.

Haru, spotting his younger sister’s clothes joining his on the floor, turned to Ako and smiled. “Swimming too?”

Ako grinned, snapping on a pair of light blue goggles in a manner that was eerily similar to Rin. “Ready when you are, Nii-chan.”

Both Nanases nodded and ran to the pool, flawlessly diving into the clear water.

Ayumu and Makoto reached out to try and stop them but let out a synchronized sigh at their behavior. Nagisa laughed next to them and stared dreamily at Haru. “Haru-chan still reminds me of a dolphin. And Ako’s still a porpoise, she’s not gotten much taller!” He grinned. “Mako-chan, Ayu-chan, let’s swim with them!”

“You’re kidding, we don’t have swimsuits.” Ayumu backed away from the pool, fearing that Nagisa will somehow push her in and get her uniform wet.

“We’ll get in trouble if they find us!” Mako nodded.

Their pleas went unheard. Nagisa pulled off his clothes and jumped into the pool… naked. Makoto hurriedly placed a hand over Ayumu’s eyes and seethed quietly as Nagisa began to splash around. “Mako-chan! Come over here!”

Ayumu squinted at Nagisa and sighed when Makoto - poor defenseless Mako - was pulled unceremoniously into the water with him. Makoto cooled down as he continued to splash Nagisa, generally making a huge ruckus in a pool inside a school _they did not go to_.

Ayumu sighed. “You idiots need to get out of there and be quiet or we’re definitely going to get-”

“What are you guys doing here?” A loud but familiar voice echoed across the deserted facility.

Ayumu edged away from the angry redhead. “Getting caught, apparently.” She motioned for Ako to come to the edge of the pool, holding out a towel that was in Ako’s bag. At least she came prepared.

Ako snuck out of the pool and draped the towel over herself, pulling on her uniform as fast as she could while the boys made awkward conversation. “Should we make a run for it?” She asked.

Ayumu shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Ako was about to reply when Haru emerged from the pool, shaking the excess water from his hair. He looked straight at Rin with eyes that _understood_. “I want you to show me that sight again.” He grinned. “I’ve forgotten what it was I saw.”

“Sure, I can do that. But, it won’t be the same this time.” Rin’s disdain melted into confidence as he returned Haru’s grin with a grin of his own, a sharp one that promised a challenge. “I’ll be showing you something completely different.” He said.

Ayumu could feel danger approaching as Haru and Rin got ready to start. Her eyes met Makoto’s and he nodded, nudging his head in the direction of the exit. “Ako, let’s go.”

Ako wouldn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on her brother and on Rin like that fateful day they met in Iwatobi Swim Club, back when the most important thing to Rin was to swim in a relay with Haru. “I want to see.” She muttered. “I want to see if he can show us that sight again.” She spun around and stared into Ayumu’s eyes.

“I want Rin back.”


	2. Episode 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to start a swim club... again. But, this time is different, I promise.

**EPISODE 2**

_-Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy-_

* * *

 

Ako and Ayumu could only watch the two swimmers as they stepped on the starting block. It was apparent that the race _would_ happen, no matter what the others might say. 

“Damn, you really piss me off.”

Ako looked down, the sadness apparent in her eyes. Rin might’ve said really hurtful things to her, but that didn’t change the fact that she still cared for him. And seeing him this upset over his last race with Haru really hurt.

A few minutes later, the race was over. Rin had won. But his reaction was nowhere near happiness.

“You win. That’s great, Rin.”

“That’s great?” repeated Rin, the spite obvious in his voice. He reached over and grabbed Haru’s goggles, yanking him towards himself. Right when he opened his mouth to say something, an unfamiliar, older voice rung out through the swimming hall.

And that is why the five Iwatobi students were sent home with a promise of a phone call to their school.

Rin was shooed to his room where he looked at his clock. It was 2:21 in the morning. It would be fun waking up tomorrow. Just as he was about to roll over and finally get some well deserved sleep, his phone buzzed. Grumpily, he picked it up and looked at the sender.

“Gou?”

_Did you get to see Nanase-san and the others?_

It was only a simple sentence, but it pissed him off to no end. He threw the phone to the other end of his bed, before burying his face into his hands.

“Does this mean I can never beat him?”

 

* * *

  _-Iwatobi, High School-_

* * *

  

Ako and Ayumu sighed simultaneously, happy to finally be let off the hook. It was no fun being yelled at the first time, when they had gone to the old swimming club building, but the second time was almost too much. At least it was over now. 

“Miss Ama wasn’t much help.” Nagisa sighed

Makoto stared out into space thoughtfully. “I wonder how the fish saying goes… Haru, do you maybe kn-”

Mako stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that the older Nanase sibling wasn’t behind the group anymore. Ako could only sigh, seeing her brother walk out of the building.

However, the attention of the small group very quickly shifted to an approaching red head.

“Ah, Gou-chan!”

“I told you to call me Kou!” the girl more or less yelled, obviously disliking the name. The other two girls couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. Both of them had boyish names as well.

Ayumu watched in fascination as Nagisa more or less Looney Tooned the younger Matsuoka before they finally stopped.

“You’re Rin’s sister, then?” Ayumu looked to Ako, shocked that she’d spoken up. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nanase Akio but everyone calls me Ako.” She smiles, extending a hand out to Gou.

“I’ve heard about you from my brother. He said you were a great swimmer.” Gou smiled back at her and shook her hand enthusiastically.

Ako blinked at her. “He didn't seem to think so when we last saw him.” She muttered sheepishly.

“So, were you able to see my brother?” she asked as they moved into a less crowded hallway.

“About that... “ Nagisa began. “Rin-chan is so mean! We haven’t seen each other in four years and the first thing he does is challenge Haru to a race! We didn’t get a chance to talk to him about anything else”

“We’re all a bit worried about him. We missed him a lot while he was away, but he returned completely different.” Ayumu said, a pang of sadness apparent in her voice.

“Have you heard anything from Rin, Kou?” this time it was the older Tachibana who asked the question.

Kou shook her head, saying how she had both called him and written emails, but to no avail.

“Maybe something happened in Australia?”

What nobody noticed was Ako shifting on her feet, obviously feeling guilty about something. However, she’d decided a long time ago that she would let Haru and Rin open up about that if they wanted. It wasn’t her place to say anything.

“Do you have anything to do with Rin showing up at the swimming club?” Mako asked, obviously curious.

“I was just trying to help! I happened to overhear your conversation, so I sent him a message. But he never replied.” She finished, a pout forming on her lips.

“Is that why you went to Haru’s and Ako’s house yesterday?”

“Yeah, I was hoping he might have some answers.”

If Gou had meant to say anything else, she didn’t have the chance to, since Nagisa perked up, an idea coming to him. “Why don’t we start a swimming club? That way we might see Rin at tournaments!” He suggested.

Makoto, Gou and Ayumu were obviously sceptical about the idea, but it was clear that Ako was on board the moment swimming was mentioned.

“I’m not sure Haru will be on board with that.” Makoto said in a futile attempt to get the idea out of Nagisa’s head.

Unfortunately for Makoto, Haru decided now was the time to defy expectation.

“Whatever, knock yourself out.” He said blandly.

After enduring a creepy round of staring Gou aimed at her brother, Ako spotted Haru moving to the kitchen and decided to get up and cook something so that their guests wouldn’t just be having mackerel.

Ako opened the refrigerator and sighed. “We need food that isn’t mackerel, Onii-chan.” She said, pulling out a cut of tuna she’d managed to secret into their groceries while Haru was debating which cut of mackerel would be best with miso.

“I’ll buy some tomorrow.” Haru conceded a little too willingly for Ako’s comfort. Raising a brow at his sister, Haru gave her a small smile. “You can come if you want. To make sure we get everything.” He said.

“I’ll come along, then.” Ako agreed hurriedly, afraid he’d take it back if she didn’t. With vigor, she started slicing the tuna evenly with a sharp knife. Haru eyed the way she cut the tuna, watchful of her fingers in case she cuts herself.

Realizing what she was trying to do, he opened the rice cooker and left a plate of sticky rice out to cool. “Do you need seaweed wrapper?” He asked.

“Yes, please.” She nodded. “I’ll cook some eggs too.”

“It’s fine, I’ll handle it.” Haru waved her away, pulling out another pan next to his mackerel. “I’ll tell you when it’s ready. Work on the rice, please.” He reassured her.

Nagisa’s voice cut through the relaxed state of the Nanase household. “Is this the first time Rin has come back to Japan since he left?” He asked.

Haru’s eyes went back to Ako cutting up the tuna slowly to be precise. She seemed calm enough. “Huh?” Gou’s voice piped up from the other room. “He came back every year for New Year’s.” She said.

Nagisa stood up abruptly. “And he never contacted us?!”

Haru reached over to pull the knife away when Ako cut too fast. “Nagisa.” Haru scolded, disturbed by how close Ako was to losing a finger.

“I’m okay, Onii-chan.” Ako laughed awkwardly but let Haru cut up the rest of the tuna while she took the mackerel and the eggs off the heat. “I’ll just serve the mackerel and then work on the rice.” She said, cheerfully setting the fish down on a plate and taking it to their guests.

As Haru watched her go, he saw Makoto staring at him worriedly and tilted his head at his friend. Makoto quickly averted his gaze and Haru went back to the tuna suddenly a little thankful for Ako’s slip up for covering up what could have potentially been him giving Makoto a reason to worry about him.

“How troublesome.” He muttered, his thoughts on a certain redhead. _‘You’re causing trouble even when you aren’t around.’_ He thought.

 

* * *

_\- Sano, Elementary School -_

* * *

  

“I’m moving to Australia.”

 

Those words changed everything. Sousuke and Ayumu only stared at the red haired boy, slowly processing his words.

Soon after they registered, Rin noticed tears gathering in the eyes of the younger Tachibana twin. The next moment, he had a small pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

“What do you mean you’re leaving? You can’t just do that! I thought you wanted to swim with Haru before going!”

Rin looked at Ayumu, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“Don’t worry, it’s not forever! I just wanna get better at swimming, I’ll come back. And I’m going to Iwatobi before Australia, so I’ll swim with him.” He untangled himself from her hug, looking at Sousuke.

The taller boy just stared back at him, obviously not happy with the news either. “Where will you stay?” he asked.

“My parents have friends there. I’ll stay at their house.”

By now, Ayumu was standing next to Sousuke. She knew the boy better than he’d care to admit and didn’t have much difficulty reading his face. He wanted to say something, yet didn’t. It wasn’t that hard to guess what he was having trouble expressing.

Sousuke felt a nudge on his side. “It’s okay to tell him you’ll miss him, y’know.” His eyes widened at Ayumu’s words. Was it that obvious?

However, he decided to take her advice, despite being a bit embarrassed about how easily she read him.

Stepping forward, he came to stand in front of Rin. Then, to the red haired boy’s surprise, he hugged him.

“Make sure to write often, okay?” 

Even though Rin was surprised at the sudden closeness, he smiled slightly.

“Yeah, I will. But, you have to write back too!” 

Sousuke mirrored the smile and let go of him. If only he knew that the next time he’d see his friend, he would be a different person.

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

 

“I’m Matsuoka Rin’s sister. I came here to see my brother.”

 

Ayumu looked around in wonder. The last time she had been to the Samezuka Academy, it was dark and she didn’t really have a chance to look around. Now, in the daytime, it looked even more prestigious.

“Matsuoka-kun isn’t back yet.” 

“Oh, I see.” Said Gou, a frown forming on her face. Despite him not being there, the two girls decided they’d stay a bit longer. After Ayumu saw the doors to the observation area for the swimming pool, they went in to see how the swimming team looked.

Gou immediately zeroed in on the numerous muscles, while Ayumu was quite impressed by the swimming in general. However, their reactions didn’t differ much.

“Look at those triceps!”

“Look at that backstroke!”

Thankfully for the two, no one seemed to be paying much attention to them.

Seeing that, Ayu took the chance to ask Gou a few questions about Rin. She couldn’t deny her curiosity anymore.

“So, Gou-chan, did Rin ever say anything about Ako while he was visiting?”

Judging by her reaction, Gou was more or less expecting a question like that-

“Yeah, he used to talk about her a lot! He could never stop when he started. But then, after his visit during middle school… he suddenly stopped.”

Ayumu looked down sadly. He had stopped replying to her texts during middle of school as well.

“Ah, but you should’ve seen him before that! He’d always blush like a tomato whenever someone mentioned her. It was adorable!”

Gou was obviously trying to cheer her up, and it was working. If anything, Ayumu appreciated her efforts. She looked up and continued.

“Rin was always so happy when talking about the Nanases, so I’ve always wanted to meet Ako-san. Honestly, I was a bit surprised when she introduced herself so abruptly. But now I know why he likes her so much. She really is an interesting girl. It would be nice if I could get to know her better”

Ayumu smiled, happy that they were talking so casually.

“Oh, she’s interesting all right. You should see her during winter. I can never get her out of the bathtub during weekends, no matter how hard I try.”

“You’ve known Ako-chan for a long time, right?”

“Yeah, ever since she was born. Our families are good friends, so it was natural we’d be friends as well. We did almost everything together as kids. We still do actually.”

“You seem more like her sister than her friend.”

“I feel more like her sister than her friend.” Ayumu laughed. “And I definitely have to act like it at times.”

Before she could say anything else, they were interrupted by a male voice.

“It’s you. The one who’s looking for her brother, right?”

Ayumu turned around to see a tall guy approaching them, presumably a swimmer, judging by his jacket.

“No, that would be her.” She answered, mentioning to Gou. “I’m just here to accompany her.”

The boy nodded and turned to Gou. Before he could say anything, a strange look crossed his face.

“You’re pretty cute.”

Not missing a beat, Gou smiled at him.

“Thank you. I’m looking for my brother, Matsuoka Rin.”

“Matsuoka?” The confusion was apparent in his voice. “There’s no one called Matsuoka on the team.”

The news were shocking to say the least. After hearing that, the girls quietly excused themselves and left. They obviously had nothing to wait for.

“Rin’s not on the swim team…”

“I never expected that from Nii. Why does he go to Samezuka then?”

Ayumu could only sigh. So much about knowing Rin well.

“I say we shouldn’t think about it for now. Let’s talk about something else! Are you in a club, Gou-chan?”

Gou looked at her, a bit sceptical about the sudden change of topic. However, she didn’t exactly have anything to say either, so she accepted it.

“Not yet. Honestly, I don’t even know which club I should join. There are none that catch my eye.”

“Ah, I see. What about the swim club?"

At first, Gou thought Ayu was joking. After seeing the look on her face, it was very obvious she was not.

“What? Where did that suggestion come from?”

“Well, you’ve been watching Rin for a long time, so you should know a thing or two!”

“I haven’t swam in ages!”

“We have a pool, you can practice there.”

“You mean the school pool? It didn’t really look like it was in a good condition.”

“We’re fixing it up together! I think Ako and the others are shopping for supplies right now.” 

Gou sighed, still not sure about it.

“Didn’t you say you wanna get to know Ako better? This is your chance, Gou-chan.”

“You’re not being fair.”

“I’m never fair!”

The smile on Ayu’s face was angelic, but her words were the absolute opposite.

“If I do join, hypothetically speaking, is there a possibility that I could have a trial period, to see if I like it?”

“Hypothetically speaking, I’m pretty sure it’s not morally okay for us to force you to stay, so yes, if you do join, you’re free to quit any time.”

Gou sighed again, deeper this time.

“Then I guess I can do it. Hopefully I don’t regret this decision.

Ayumu only laughed, congratulating the younger girl on her admittance to the club.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

Four students and one teacher stood before the dirty pool, facing their doom. It was time. They had to clean it. 

And so began their long suffering. While it was all worth it in the end, the task was still long and exhausting.

First, they had to weed out the pool. That actually proved to be the most tedious one, considering how much vegetation had gathered during the time no one was using the pool.

Well, it was the most tedious one until Ako showed up. No one ever expected the girl to come with a full arsenal of cleaning tools (and they couldn’t help but notice there were probably more mops than needed in any situation).

After that, cleaning went a lot quicker. The small girl was an absolute demon when cleaning was involved. Almost like Haru and cooking.

The next day, the group decided that they would go to a pool supplies store after school. This time, Ayumu and Gou were with them as well. The older girl explained to the rest of the team the night before that she’d managed to recruit Gou for the team. The visit was mostly peaceful, except for that one incident with Haru and the fish tank, but that was resolved without much trouble.

They got everything they needed, and were now one step closer to having a functioning pool.

At this point, it was time to start thinking about how to recruit members. Both Nagisa and Haru tried to draw, but it didn’t help much. They did manage to catch the attention of the art club with Haru’s drawing, though.

Ako also tried to draw a small poster with the team members as chibis, but before she could try to print it, Nagisa had knocked a glass of water over it, ruining it. Needless to say, she didn’t feel like redoing it.

Over the next few days, they started with the finishing touches on the pool, sometimes working during their lunch breaks. Well, it was mostly Ako and Haru who worked, but the others also joined them sometimes.

“This is pretty fun. Feels like we’re back in grade school” mussed Makoto during one lunch break. If they kept up the pace, this would be their last day of cleaning.

“Grade schoolers wouldn’t be asked to clean up a pool.”

Despite the gloomy tone of his voice, it was obvious he was excited about the pool almost being done.

“Wow, the pool looks a lot cleaner than it did!” Gou and Ayumu both marveled at the progress. They weren’t there there morning, because Ayumu was helping Gou with some schoolwork, and they had gone to get out lunch for the team during the break.

After another Kou-Gou fight, they all finally settled down for the much deserved food.

“Thanks for the food!”

“Ako, are you excited about the pool? I can’t wait to stretch my back. It’s been a while since I last swam.”

“You could always join me in the ocean. You come every morning anyway.”

“Unlike you, I didn’t build up my tolerance for cold so much, so I’ll pass.”

Ako smiled at her friend. She couldn’t wait to swim either. It would be nice to have lap lanes for once.

“Hey, Ako?” The girl in question suppressed the urge to make a face. When Ayu used that tone, it was obvious she was about to say something embarrassing.

“Remember when we first joined the ISC?”

 

* * *

_-Iwatobi, Swimming Club-_

* * *

 

“Everyone, meet Nanase Akio-chan and Tachibana Ayumu-chan. They’ll be swimming with us from now on. Please treat them nicely!”

 

The younger of the two girls, obviously excited, started running around, almost knocking a few people over. Seeing her friend about to slip, the other one chased after her, managing to grab her wrist before that happened.

“Ako, if you’re that excited, let’s just swim!”

Ako looked up at her, her eyes shining.

“Let’s go then! I can’t wait!”

Soon, they were both in water, swimming laps around. Even at the young age, they both knew their prefered stroke.

Everything was going perfectly well, until Ako got a bit emotional and challenged a boy to a race for making fun of her swimsuit. What was wrong with it being blue?

Even more problems arose when she beat him. His pride didn’t take it well, even though freestyle obviously wasn’t his forte. Seeing as he was about to do something drastic, Ayumu quickly tried to get his attention before he could do anything. However, she didn’t exactly think it through before doing it.

“Hey, you! Why don’t you pick on someone your size!”

The boy turned to her, his frown deepening.

“If you’re that eager to defend your friend, why don’t you race me as well?”

Ayumu froze at those words. But she couldn’t refuse a direct challenge.

“Alright then! But I get to choose the stroke.”

The second she said backstroke, a mean look came to the boy’s face.

“You have good taste, chibi. Back is my fastest.”

At this point, Ayumu considered herself a dead girl. It was only her first day here and she had already managed to get into a race.

However, her fears proved to be more or less useless, since she beat the boy quite easily. Well, in his defense, he did mess up the turn, but the gap was already visible then.

Seeing the boy visibly upset didn’t please Ayumu, so she reached out across the pool and offered him her hand.

“You were pretty good! You should just use your legs a bit more. If you want, I can help you!”

The boy looked at the hand a bit skeptically before taking it. Ayumu wasn’t sure about it, but she thought she saw a bit of red dusting his cheeks.

She smiled at him, and then turned around to face Ako, who was waiting for her to get out of the pool.

Suddenly, her smile seemed a lot more deadly.

One long lecture later about how it wasn’t good to challenge people to race over trivial things, and an even longer session of drying their hair, they were ready to leave. Makoto had agreed to pick them both up, since Haru had a doctor's appointment.

While leaving the club, the receptionist stopped them, offering them both free charms, since they were new members. Without much thought, Ako picked a porpoise chain (and was honestly surprised they had one), while Ayumu went for the sea turtle one.

“So how was your first day at the club?”

They were now walking home, eating popsicles, since Makoto was generous enough to buy them (but not without Ayu promising she’d be the one to do it next time).

After hearing how they both managed to get themselves into a race, he could only stare at them in wonder.

“You know, I’ve been talking with Haru. Maybe the two of us could join the club as well.”

Ako’s eyes started sparkling at that.

“Then we can swim in a relay!” 

“I think our strokes don’t exactly match…”

Seeing Ako’s face fall, Ayumu quickly tried to fix her words.

“But we can always swim together, relay or not!” She turned to Makoto “So I think it would be great if you joined as well.”

Makoto smiled, mirroring his sister.

And so, barely a week later, Ako and Ayumu heard the same words again, only with different names.

“Everyone, meet Nanase Haru-kun and Tachibana Makoto-kun. They’ll be swimming with us from now on. Please treat them nicely!”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

After an entire afternoon of failure, Nagisa flopped down on the bench in front of Makoto having given up looking for people who would willingly join the swim club. Haru continued to carve wooden Iwatobi mascots and Ako was trying and failing to stop him.

“It’s starting to look like we fixed up the pool for nothing.” Makoto sighed.

Ayumu came up behind him and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t say that.” She and Nagisa said at the same time.

Nagisa looked at her and then Ako and then back at her and smiled amicably. “Hey, Ayu-chan.” He grinned.

“No.” Ayumu said flatly.

“Come on, you haven’t even heard me say anything yet!” Nagisa whined and Makoto peered at the younger boy curiously. “All you need to do is put on a swimsuit-”

“No.” Ayumu repeated.

“Just attract some students to the swim club-” Nagisa insisted.

“No.” Ayumu’s eyes hardened.

“Fine, I’ll ask Ako-chan!” He got up and bolted over to Ako discussing his plan to her while Haru grew more and more appalled by him.

Ayumu scoffed, crossing her arms. “Like Ako would ever agree to that.”

“Alright, I mean, if it’s for the swim club.” Ako replied cheerfully pulling a one-piece black swimsuit with white highlights from her bag. “Make sure to bring lots of recruitment paper, Nagisa!” She said.

“Ako!” Haru and Ayumu called out but it was too late.

Ako had disappeared into the changing rooms and Nagisa ran out of the club room to give out the recruitment sheets.

“This isn’t good.” Makoto said tiredly as Ako sprinted out after Nagisa.

In the end, they got almost fifty new applicants and Haru sat them all down one by one asking them if they liked swimming. Any that hesitated immediately got booted out. Needless to say, they were all booted out.

“That’s the last of them.” Ayumu said, her hand still pinching Nagisa’s cheek. “Never _ever_ do that again.”

Makoto was about to comment when another figure came through the door. “Oh, hello. Are you here to join the swim club?” He asked, approaching the bespectacled younger man. He had good build and seemed… kind of familiar if Makoto was honest. It wasn’t until Ako sprinted past him now fully clothed in her school uniform and tackled the boy in a hug that he realized this must be her best friend Rei.

“Rei, are you finally joining, then?” She asked, letting him go.

Rei flustered, his face turning bright red. “I’m only here to see if you’re okay. I heard you were out and about in just a swimsuit. I’m sorry you were seen like that by lots of people.” He said politely.

Ako blinked at him and started laughing. “It’s okay, Rei. It’s a recruitment plan. I fully consented to it. And it was embarrassing but we had lots of applicants!” Ako sighed. “If only Haru hadn’t sent them all away.”

“If they’re not here for the water they shouldn’t be here at all.” Haru said.

Makoto chuckled. “Haru says that but really he’s just a protective older brother.”

“Makoto.” Haru frowned.

Rei sighed in relief. “Well, if you’re alright then I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked.

“Oh wait, it’s wednesday so I’m walking home with you.” Ako grinned, shouldering her duffel bag. “I’ll see you guys at home Ayu-chan, Mako-chan, Nii!” She waved goodbye as she sprinted out with Rei.

Nagisa blinked. “Who was that?” He asked.

“Ryugazaki Rei.” Haru stated rather unhelpfully.  

Ayumu raised a brow at him. “You guys have met, haven’t you? They’re both in your class.” She said, shaking her head at the blonde.

“Rei-chan.” Nagisa’s eyes sparkled. “He needs to join the swim club!”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi Swim Club -_

* * *

  

_“I believe that the swimming club you both used to go to is finally being torn down.”_

 

The older Tachibana twins quickly made their way to the former Iwatobi Swim Club and skidded to a stop. The building, the one that looked decrepit but still very much like home a couple of days ago, looked less like a building and more like a relic of a time long past. 

Ayumu stepped forward and let out a sad gasp as she took in the image of what once was their place be destroyed.

“Hurts, right?”

Ayumu and Makoto turned around, eyes widening as they caught sight of their old swimming coach, Sasabe Goro. “Were you a part of this club?” He asked and Ayumu laughed at his short memory. “Only since we were kids.” She said softly.

Makoto’s eyes widened further. “Coach Sasabe?” He surged forward, pointing at himself. “I’m Makoto! Tachibana Makoto! That’s my sister, Tachibana Ayumu!”

Coach Sasabe spluttered, at a loss for words.

Ayumu took that time to take everything in. The swim club was gone. Coach Sasabe, who was driving a pizza delivery bike, fired from coaching and was now a pizza delivery guy. The boys stopped swimming in their second year of middle school. Ayumu had to smile at Ako’s drive. It looked like in the mess going on around them, Ako remained the lighthouse that brought her back home. It’s times like these that Ayumu really understands why Makoto is so thankful for Haru.

“Are you still friends with Rin?”

Ayumu and Makoto flinched, turning to look at each other before answering. “Rin… goes to a different school.” Makoto answers for the both of them.

“He’s back from Australia, right? He was really glum last time I saw him. I was worried.” Coach Sasabe sighed. “Maybe being back will let him resolve things.” He nodded, leaning back into his motorbike.

Makoto blinked several times. “Glum?”

“What do you mean, glum?” Ayumu tilted her head.

Coach Sasabe looked bewildered. “Haruka and Akio didn’t tell you?” He sighed. “I think it was winter of your first year in middle school. I was closing down the place for the year when the three of them showed up.” He explained. “Apparently,” He gestured to the building with his hand. “They ran into each other while Rin was home.”

“Did they have a race?” Makoto cut in, suspicion clear on his face.

Coach Sasabe nodded. “Haruka won easily. Rin was pretty upset about it. Can’t blame the kid, he went to a swimming school abroad and it didn’t make a difference.” He said wearing a sad and wistful expression.

Ayumu frowned. There must have been more to the story, more that caused the tension between Rin and the Nanases. She watched as Makoto said his goodbyes to Coach Sasabe and made a decision.

It’s time to get to the bottom of this. It’s time to ask Ako.


	3. Episode 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, Rei is convinced to join the swim club and Ako is a huge Reigisa shipper.

**EPISODE 3**

_\- Iwatobi, Middle School -_

* * *

 

It happened when they were in the sixth grade.

 

“School trip!” Ako cheered, swinging her backpack around. “Are you excited, Rei?” She beamed at the bespectacled boy walking contentedly next to her. Ako heard several girls giggling behind them and rolled her eyes. 

Rei seemed to notice her foul mood and smiled reassuringly. “I’m glad we’re class partners, Ako-san.” He said.

“Ako! Stop it with the -san. You can even call me Ako-chan if you want.” She nodded enthusiastically before noticing that most of their classmates already went inside.

“We need to hurry before we run out of space, Rei! Come on!” She said, dragging Rei into the room they were staying at and quickly claiming a corner where both of their sleeping bags would fit. 

Rei smiled. Maybe this school trip wouldn’t be so bad…

Or that’s what he thought, until _the incident_.

Rei dug into his bag and frowned, shifting his things around. No matter how hard he looked he couldn’t find the ziplock he’d packed. “It’s not here.” He frowned.

Ako perked up next to him, hearing the familiar giggling from in front of them. She squinted at the two girls and clicked her tongue. Maehara Nika and Suzumori Karin were both looking at Rei and another group of boys from their class.

“Hey!” Their teacher came in, holding up a familiar ziplock. “Someone left this in the bath!” He announced.

Rei looked absolutely mortified as Maehara and Suzumori burst out laughing. Ako grit her teeth and stood up and raised her hand. “I’m sorry, sir. I accidentally packed my brother’s pants with my stuff so my best friend kept it in a ziplock for me because I told him I didn’t want cooties.” She bowed low. “I’m very sorry, sir. It must have fallen out of his pack.”

Maehara and Suzumori stopped laughing and huffed, whining about their fun being ruined.

Ako proudly stepped up to the teacher and took the ziplock, apologizing one more time before turning to return to Rei. On her way back, she took the long route which took her around the room and in front of the group of boys Maehara and Suzumori were looking at. As she passed by their leader sitting smugly against the wall she let out a long breath and stomped on his foot.

“Ow! Who did that?” He screamed.

Ako pretended to trip and fall, shouting as she went down. She stared at the boy next to him, more pointedly to his extended foot, and dramatically clutched her knee. “Your foot was in the way. It _tripped_ me.” She half yelled, alerting Rei and several of her classmates.

Rei rushed over to her and helped her up as the two boys started fighting. “Are you alright, Ako?” He asked.

“Oh, I’m great, Rei.” She handed the ziplock to him and winked. “After all, there’s nothing quite as sweet as revenge.”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

Nagisa sighed as he sat down heavily on the train. “We need one more member. Haru turned down everyone Ako got to come to the swim club. Even if none of them liked to swim…” He whined. “It would still be nice to be able to swim the relay.”

Another figure entered the train after him and he looked up to find a familiar bespectacled face reading a complicated looking book. “Ryu… Ryugazaki?”

Rei looked up from his book at Nagisa. “Oh, Ako’s friend from the swim club.” He nodded in greeting. “She told me you two swam together in a swim club as kids.” He chatted amicably.

“Yeah! We had lots of fun.” Nagisa said cheerfully. “You take the train to school?” He asked.

“Yes.” He answered blandly, eyes going back to his book. He’d talk to Nagisa because he was Ako’s friend but something about the direction of this conversation put Rei off. Plus, last time he saw Nagisa interact with Ako he stuck her skirt to a screw. True, he’d later admitted he meant to make her cardigan stick and not for her to get stuck but it wasn’t a very good first impression.

“Oh yeah!”

Here we go.

“I wanted to ask, since you and Ako-chan get along so well, as a classmate would you-” Nagisa started.

“I won’t join the swim club.” Rei answered hurriedly.

Nagisa frowned up at him and Rei suddenly understood where Ako learned that from. “How did you know I was going to ask?” He asked.

“Besides Ako asking me all the time to join since the start of middle school?” He huffed affectionately. “It was easy enough to guess. You’ve got recruitment posters in your bag and Iwatobi swimsuit version straps for new members, it was obvious.” He shrugged.

“Ako told you we need another swimmer to complete a medley?” Nagisa asked, grinning.

Rei’s face became bright red and he adjusted his glasses. Ako told Nagisa once that observation showed that Rei adjusted his glasses at least 9 times per minute, at the time it seemed hard to believe but the boy really _did_ adjust them a lot. “It doesn’t matter.” Rei said, breaking Nagisa out of his thoughts. “I joined the track team.”

“Rei!”

Nagisa looked outside and found Ako waving at him before stopping and noticing Nagisa. “Ako-chan??” He said incredulously as Ako started waving at him too.

“Honestly, she should join the track team too with how much she runs.” Rei shook his head. “Goodbye, Hazuki-san.” He nodded again and got off the train.

As the train started moving again, Nagisa stuck his head as close to the window as he could to watch Rei and Ako run the last lap to the school. “So, Ako still gets up early to exercise.” He grins. “At least Ako-chan is the same as always.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Middle School -_

* * *

 

“Rei.” Ako reached out to pat his shoulder gently but Rei still startled causing her to tighten her grip so he wouldn’t fall into the pool by accident. “Rei, you have to get in the water or you’ll fail P.E.” She insisted. 

Rei looked conflicted and Ako knew it was because he didn’t want to fail. But Rei shook his head. Something was stronger than his hatred for failure and that something was preventing him from swimming.

One thing Ako learned from Haru when he was around Makoto was to take everything people are afraid of seriously and never patronize them. So, when Rei said no he meant no. “I’ll tell the teacher you can’t get in the water, okay?” She smiled.

As she was heading to tell the teacher, Maehara called out from the other side of the pool in perfect english. “What’s the matter, Ryugazaki? Scared of getting wet?” Suzumori giggled next to her.

Ako, predictably, whipped around and went to confront the girl.

“I’m sick of it.” She said loudly and in english. “I’m sick of your whining. I’m sick of your picking on younger kids. And I’m sick of your holier than thou attitude. Quite frankly, I’m very _very_ sick of you, Maehara.”

Suzumori gaped at her and Maehara seethed with gritted teeth.

Maehara stood up. “You want to take me on, Nanase? We can settle this in the pool.”

Ako raised a brow at her and smirked. “Challenging a Nanase in water?” She raised two fingers. “That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make with me, Maehara. Your demise was inevitable when you picked on Rei.” She turned and took her position at the start. “We’re swimming Free.”

“I’ll kick your ass in any stroke, Nanase.” She growled and snapped on her own purple goggles.

The teacher was about to put a stop to it when Ayumu stepped forward. “Can we let them solve their issues like this? It’s much less violent.” She suggested. The teacher, recognizing the swim team captain, nodded and let him have the whistle.

“On your marks.”

Ako’s stance became firmer and Rei’s eyes were drawn to the way she held her body in complete balance.

“Get set.” Ayumu grinned and blew on the whistle hard.

Ako and Maehara dove in together but Ako’s superior dolphin kick put her at an early lead. She tore through the water smoothly with her arms almost embracing the liquid. Rei found himself staring from start to finish as Ako tapped the wall seconds ahead of Maehara.

“No fair! I want-” Maehara surfaced spluttering. “I want a rematch.”

Ako reached a hand out to her to help her out of the pool. “If it’s another race you want, come to the swim club. I’ll race you anytime.” She smiled.

Maehara stared up at her and blinked.

Ako nodded at her encouragingly. “Join the swim club.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

Sometimes, with how much she loves swimming, a lot of people forgot that Ako was perceptive when she wanted to be. She watched as Nagisa hung up the poster and was shot down by Rei as he passed by. Waiting until Rei was gone, she leaned against the board next to where Nagisa tacked on the poster.

“You know, Nagisa-ko…” Nagisa startled and turned abruptly to face her. “You always act like a little kid around us but it’s really only to hide what you really feel. That part of you still hasn’t changed.” She grinned.

Nagisa’s face became a cute shade of pink. “Ah, Ako-chan! No fair, you gave me a cuter nickname than normal! I wasn’t ready!” He giggled.

“You’re silly.” Ako rolled her eyes at him. “If you like Rei, I can help you.” She winked.

Nagisa tried to brush it off and walk away but Ako caught him by the arm and looked into his bright eyes with her blue ones. “Rei loves swimming more than a lot of people I’ve raced against but he-” Ako hesitated. “I can’t help him with this. That’s why I’m counting on you.” She held both of his hands with hers.

Makoto, Haru, Ayumu, and Gou rounded the corner before Nagisa could reply and spotted them both.

“Ako?” Ayumu tilted her head. “What were you guys doing?” She asked. “It’s not another recruitment plan is it?” She sighed and shook her head.

Ako blinked and started smiling. “Nagisa-ko! Ayu-chan! Nii! Come quick!” She yelled, dragging Ayu and Nagisa with her to the school grounds.

“A-Ako! What are we doing?” Ayumu asked, catching Gou’s sleeve with her free hand and damn Ako was strong for such a small girl. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Nagisa laughing wildly as he grabbed Haru by the arm.

Ako looked into the distance as another track member pole vaulted. “We’re taking a look at our last swim team member.” She winked. “For the boys, at least. The girls still need another member for our medley.”

Stopping at the track field, Ako stood there calmly like she’d done it many times before. “You guys can sit down.” She said, gesturing to the benches. “You might want to talk to the captain though, Mako-chan.”

“E-Eh? Why?” Makoto asked nervously, expecting Ako to do something insane.

Ako laughed. “It’s only polite if we’re sitting in on their practice.” She said, waving an older boy with green hair over. “Sena-senpai!” She greeted.

“Ah, Nanase-san.” The Track Team Captain smiled at her and greeted the rest of the team. “I see the team is here to watch. Not here for Ryugazaki-kun, then?” He asked.

Ako laughed. “Of course, I’m here to show off how amazing my friend is to my other friends.” She said proudly. “If that’s okay with you, Sena-senpai.”

“Of course it is!” Sena nodded. “You guys have fun and good luck with your own competitions.” He bowed before returning to his practice.

Nagisa scanned the field and spotted Rei immediately. “There he is!” He pointed excitedly. “There! Look, he’s gonna jump!” He shouted and every swim team member turned to watch as Rei ran forward and with great form cleared the obstacle with the long pole.

“His form was beautiful.” Makoto commented. “He’s probably a great diver.” He smiled, patting Ako on the shoulder while go went on and on about his biceps.

From the corner of Ako’s eye she caught Nagisa staring at Rei.

“I’m rooting for you.” She said softly. “Nagisa.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

“I’ve got good news for everyone today.” Gou said after finally being able to gather everyone by the pool without hurting anyone. “Amazingly enough, I managed to schedule a joint practice with Samezuka!”

Ako flinched, an action that was quickly covered up by Haru sneezing.

Ayu inched closer to her, realizing that in all that fuss about Rei she’d forgotten to ask Ako. Not that she hadn’t tried. Wednesdays were Ako’s days when she walked with Rei to the train station and thursday mornings were the only days Rei let her run with him. For some reason, Rei acted like he thought Ako was much more frail than she actually was. In reality, Rei knew Ako was a capable athlete but knowing Ako ran laps in the morning and added in Rei’s route to school he didn’t want her to overwork herself.

Luckily, Nagisa was all too ready to volunteer to run with him.

Nagisa and Rei were steadily getting closer as Nagisa wore him down and it made Ako happy to know they were getting along even if it meant she spent less time with her friend.

Well, she _was_ happy, until this joint swim practice came up.

“Did you ask Rin?” Makoto asked. And yet again, Ayumu found himself wanting to hit her twin.

Gou shook her head. “My brother won’t listen to me so I went straight to their captain.” She said and Ayumu cringed at the memory of their peppy leader.

“That’s our super manager, Gou-” Nagisa shot up and cheered.

“It’s Kou.” Gou cut in. “Honestly, if you guys can call Ako by that name then you can call me Kou!” She sighed. “Anyway, you’re all allowed to use the pool but since this is a swim practice with an all boys school we’re required to bring four guy members.” She shrugged.

Ako and Nagisa looked at each other and nodded.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

 

Rin stopped to take a deep breath and wipe the sweat off his forehead.

 

Well, not really, he actually stopped to wait for Nitori to catch up. But, he wasn’t about to say that of course. “Nobody told me there would be a joint practice.” He said. 

Nitori eventually caught up and smiled as he leaned down to catch his breath. _‘I’m sure you’d be more in the loop… if everyone were less afraid of you, Senpai.’_ He thought. “The captain made the call.” He said, already seeing the urge to curse their captain in Rin’s face. “Your little sister is a member of the Iwatobi Swim Club, right?” He straightened himself up and grinned.

“Their members are Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Tachibana Ayumu, and Nanase Akio.” Ai said, stating the obvious. “They’re all girls with boyish names and boys with girly-”

Catching the murderous look on Rin’s face, Ai decided to stop. “Sorry.” 

“How do you know?” Rin asked. 

“I participated in that tournament.” Ai explained. “It was your last tournament as a grade-schooler, Matsuoka-senpai.” He smiled, reminiscing. “My team lost in the prelims. That race was amazing to watch!” His eyes sparkled.

Rin looked away and started running again.

Nitori kept pace with him. “I was actually looking for you to congratulate you, but I ran into Nanase Akio-san on my way.” He said.

Rin nearly tripped over a rock and hissed in Ai’s general direction. “What did she say?” He asked anyway.

“I recognized her from her own race.” Ai panted, trying to catch his breath. Rin slowed down to a job so he could talk. “She told me she understood the feeling I got.” He explained and he smiled at Rin. “She said she wanted to get better quick so she could race you one day and proudly say she swam in the lane next to you, Matsuoka-senpai.”

Rin gasped quietly, almost too quiet for Ai to hear, and scoffed. “She’ll never catch up to me if she can’t even catch up to Haru.” He said as he increased his pace and left Ai to run by himself.

“Matsuoka-senpai.” He frowned. “That girl… that girl really loves you.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Swim Club -_

* * *

 

Gou’s eyes sparkled and Ayumu thought she saw actual rainbows coming out of them as she took in the boys of Samezuka stretching. “Admiring the muscles, Gou-chan?” She asked.

“Ours are just as good.” She sighed, turning to Haru and Makoto stretching.

 _‘Oh, Gou.’_ Ako thought, shaking her head. _‘They don’t swing that way, unfortunately.’_

Ako turned and leveled a worried look at Rei who’d inevitably been coerced by Nagisa into joining the swim club for a trial period just in time for the joint swim practice. “Are you okay?” She asked, placing a hand on his arm.

Rei looked at Ako surprised but his expression turned gentle quickly. “I’m fine, Ako.”

Ako frowned. “But, you can’t-”

“Hey, thanks for coming.” Seijuro said, waving.

The Iwatobi team faced him and bowed. “Thank you very much.”

“Sure.” Seijuro smiled and looked at everyone, eyes stopping at Haru.

Seijuro looked like he had more to say when he turned to Haru but his eyes fixated on Ako standing next to her older brother. “You're Nanase Akio-kun, right? You and your older brother won lots of tournaments when you were kids.” He said, eyes sparkling as he took Ako’s hands.

“Ako is fine.” She insisted, shaking Seijuro’s hands. “And you're Mikoshiba Seijuro. You were 2nd Place in Iwatobi Regionals that year. You were very fast!” Ako praised.

“That's right!” Seijuro turned pink at her words clearly not expecting her to remember that. “I still remember how he passed me at the 50 meter turn-”

“Onii-chan!”

Ako tensed and her eyes moved from Seijuro to Rin, her wide smile turned down into a troubled frown as her brows furrowed worriedly. Seijuro noticed this and tilted his head. “Ako-kun?”

The awkward nickname seemed to bring Ako’s attention back to him. “Just Ako is fine, Captain Mikoshiba.” She insisted, noticing her hands still sitting between Seijuro’s she blushed bright red.

“You can definitely call me Seijuro, then!” He grinned. Seijuro reluctantly let go and waved. “I have to get practice started but I’ll talk to you later, Ako!”

Ako waved at him and laughed awkwardly.

Ayumu took her place next to Ako and grinned. “Oh? What’s this? Has someone actually moved on from Sharky McAngryFace?” She asked, snickering.

“Seijuro-san is only being nice. He’s a fellow top athlete, after all.” Ako shrugged, her face becoming bleak again when Rin walked out of the facility. “And besides, maybe I should let go of…” She shook her head. “Things in the past are past.”

Ayumu felt uncomfortable with this silence and was going to say something but someone had called out to her before she could. Turning to the source of the call, she came face to face with a boy with familiar looking brown hair.

The boy skidded to a stop in front of her grinning like he’d won the lottery. “Ayumu-san!” He said.

“I’m sorry.” Ayumu’s eyes widened. “Do I know you?” She asked.

Ako perked up and spoke suddenly. “Mutsumi.” Her frown deepened.

Ayumu looked at Ako and gasped. “Mutsumi Ryoma, from Iwatobi SC.” She said. “Backstroke, right?” She held out her hand to shake his.

Mutsumi looked like he would faint but he kept his composure and shook her hand firmly. “Not that I was very good at it back then.” He said. “I bet I could beat you now, though.” He challenged.

Ayumu smirked. “We’ll see.”

“Mutsumi!” Seijuro called, gesturing for him to join the rest of the second years.

Mutsumi jumped in surprise and Ako grinned in satisfaction. “I have to go, Ayumu-san. But, can we talk later?” He asked.

“Sure.” Ayumu shrugged.

Mutsumi gave her another blinding grin before sprinting off to join his team.

“He’s a lot less of a dick now, at least.” Ayumu commented, pulling off her jacket in preparation for practice.

Ako pulled on her sleeve. “I’ve got a bad feeling.”

Ayumu looked at Ako then at Mutsumi. “About Mutsumi? You saw him, he’s harmless.” She rolled her eyes at the younger girl. “You’re paranoid.” She insisted.

Ako frowned but nodded. “I’m going to talk to Mako-chan.” She said, making her way to their tall team captain. “Mako-chan.” She called out, stopping when she saw he was talking to another swimmer who was much shorter than him with a bowlcut. “Oh, hello.”

“Ah! You must be Nanase Akio-san!” The grey haired boy bowed. “I’m Nitori Aiichirou. I’m Rin-senpai’s roommate.” He says, “Although, I’m not that great of a roommate since Senpai always has to clean up my mess.” He laughed awkwardly.

Ako’s shoulders tensed at the mention of Rin but her reactions were becoming subtler now than before. Not subtle enough to escape Makoto’s notice, though. “I’m sure Rin is in capable hands.” She smiles.

“Thank you.” He says with a smile. “I don’t know where it is he went but he must be busy with schoolwork. I told him earlier that I was there during his medley with Tachibana-san and the rest. It was amazing! My team got knocked out in the prelims.” He explains. “I know about yours and Nanase-san’s achievements too, of course. You’re a very good swimmer, Nanase-san.”

“It’s just Ako.” She insisted. “It seems like everyone here recognizes me.”

Nitori laughed. “It’s because you’re great. I’m sure you’ll give us first years a run for our money.” He said with a guts pose.

“I’ll certainly try.” She winked.

Nitori left to join the rest of the first years soon after leaving Ako alone standing next to Makoto.

“Ako-chan.” He said.

Ako looked up at Makoto - and by up she meant almost breaking her neck because Makoto was an entire foot taller than her - and smiled. “What’s up, Mako-chan? Enjoying the weather?” She grinned. It’s been too long since she last spoke to Makoto just her and him, probably back when they were kids and she confessed she had a crush on him and he said he liked Haru.

Makoto laughed at the lame height joke and bent down a little to compromise. “If there’s something bothering you that you don’t want to tell Ayumu or Haru, you can tell me alright?” He said more than asked. “As your former crush, I promise not to tell anyone.” He winked.

Ako grinned. Makoto really was too good for this world. “I might take you up on that.”

“I was thinking that you could practice with our First Years today.” Seijuro announced.

Feeling something bad about to happen, Ako turned to Makoto. “Hey, if you’re our team captain shouldn’t you and Seijuro-san be leading the practice together?” She asked.

“We’re in their pool, in their school, and they have more members than us so it makes more sense for Captain Mikoshiba to lead.” Makoto explained.

“We’ll start with individual time trials.” Seijuro said, pointing suddenly at Rei. “You there!” He grinned. “Get in your swimsuit.”

Nagisa jumped in with a lame excuse and Ako shook her head already knowing this wasn’t going to go well. Before she could plead with Seijuro to leave Rei alone for now, he’d already sent Ai out with him to borrow a swimsuit.

“The deal was he wouldn’t swim.” Ako crossed her arms and frowned at Nagisa.

“Ako-chan, don’t be so scary! You know that the time trials are just for practice.” Nagisa tried to calm the younger Nanase down. The Nanases might not get mad so easily but when they were they could be very intense. But, then again, they’re always kinda intense. “It doesn’t matter if he’s slow.”

Ako turned red with rage. “That’s so far from the point that you might as well be on the moon!” She said in a near-yell.

Rin jumped at the sound of an angry Ako and poked his head out from the second floor stands to find her scolding Nagisa. He frowned, he hasn’t seen her distraught since… since he told her…

Gou looked up and saw her brother staring at Ako sadly. “Onii-chan.”

“Can the next person get over here?” Seijuro said, urging Rei to take his place on the starting block.

Makoto took one look at the helpless expression on Ako’s face and frowned. “Maybe I should ask Captain Mikoshiba to let you sit this one out-” He started.

“I’ll do it.” Rei took off his glasses and stomped over to the starting block.

Ako stared at him in shock before following after him. “Rei!”

Rin gritted his teeth. “What’s the big fuss?” He said quietly to himself. “What’s she so worried about?” He asked himself, his eyes tracking Rei’s shaky movements. “And if she’s so worried why would he go through with it?”

Ako bent down and held onto the edge of the pool as if she was going to dive in too.

“Ako, what are you doing?” Ayumu asked, walking forward.

Rei dove into the pool… and promptly sunk to the bottom.

“AKO!”  Rin shouted from the stands as Ako dove into the pool, reaching Rei just as he sunk to the bottom.

Ako held her breath and slung his arm over her shoulders, trying vainly to push off of the pool floor with her feet. But, Rei was too heavy for her. _‘Shit.’_ She thought, slapping Rei a little. _‘You need to work with me, Rei.’_

In seconds, Haru was with her slinging Rei’s other arm over his shoulder. They pushed together and surfaced until Rei was standing and panting. Ako heard Nagisa approach and ask worriedly a flurry of questions trying to figure out if Rei was injured.

Rei stared at Ako as her eyes began to water. “Rei.”

“I’m okay, Ako.” He said, letting Nagisa and Haru help him out of the pool.

Ako followed behind him, wiping angrily at her tears. “Stupid Rei. Stupid Nagisa.” She said, her nose scrunching up.

Ayumu reached down to her with a hand. “Let me help you out of there, Ako.” She smiled reassuringly and pulled her out. “Do you need a hug?” She asked.

Ako shook her head. “I’m good.” She took one last look at Rei before nodding. “Lets kick their asses while the boys recover.” She said decisively.

Rei looked up as Ako took her place at the starting block with Ayumu next to her on the lane to her right. After a short chat with Seijuro, they both took their marks. “Ako.” He said, flashing back to her race with Maehara in the sixth grade.

“On your marks.” Seijuro said, grinning. “Get set.”

Ayumu and Ako bent down, touching the edge of the starting block with the edges of their fingers before gripping it lightly. They both kept their balance, waiting for the whistle.

Seijuro blew on the whistle and both girls entered the water at the same time.

Ayumu’s dolphin kick was a bit stronger than Ako’s but Ako caught up soon enough when they both started doing the front crawl. Ako’s arms were stronger at this stroke and her pace was consistent as she followed through hitting the perfect angle of entry every time.

Rin realized, belatedly, that Ako looked much better than Haru in terms of physical fitness. “She didn’t stop, even when Haru stopped swimming.” He said softly, watching her dive into the turn with flawless technique.

Rei’s mouth dropped as Ako passed him, Ayumu hot on her tail. He’d always thought her swimming was impressive but now.

Ako’s swimming was beautiful.

Nagisa grinned as he watched Rei staring at Ako. He spared a glance at them as they approached the starting block and did a double take. “Haru-chan is up next!”

Ako spotted her brother at the starting block ready to switch with Ayumu and nearly smiled as she breathed in. That first lap with Ayumu was rough but her stamina could take on another lap so when Ayumu touched the wall she dove down instead and turned just as Haru dove in next to her.

Ayumu surfaced and saw Ako chasing after Haru. “Ike, Ako-chan!” She yelled loudly.

“Ike, Ako!” Gou cheered, pumping her own fist into the air.

Ako steadily gained on Haru despite her fatigue and suddenly, she understood what Rin meant by Haru being out of shape. Haru would never let her this close had he been in peak form. Nevertheless, she pushed forward until she was only a foot behind Haru.

They both dove for the turn but Ako’s legs were getting tired so she fell back a bit, making up for it with her slightly quicker pace. She touched the wall seconds behind Haru and surfaced, grinning widely.

“That was great, Ako.” Haru smiled. “You almost caught me.”

Ako splashed her older brother and laughed. “Rin was right, you’re out of shape.” She smirked and dove back down when Haru splashed her back.

Makoto smiled as the Nanase siblings shared a high-five - which was more like Ako excitedly throwing her hand into the air and Haru letting Ako hit his hand with hers - and checked on Rei who was still gaping a little.

“The Nanases have that effect when they’re in the water.” He said.

“Can I…” He said softly, more to himself than to Makoto. “Can I learn to swim like that?”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

“You haven’t given up yet?” Makoto asked.

 

Nagisa’s cheeks puffed up in displeasure. “Of course not.”

Ako doesn’t know how to feel. After Rei’s faceplant into the bottom of the Samezuka pool she’s been on edge, hyper-aware of her best friend when he’s near any body of water. Not that she couldn’t trust him. She can’t shake off the feeling of helplessness in those seconds that she realized she couldn’t save Rei if he was drowning.

When Ako looked up again Rei had leaned on the pole and jumped. Her eyes widened, the sight of him jumping reminding her too much of his incident. “Rei.” She said, shooting up off the bench.

Haru, anticipating, caught her by the hand before she could do something to make her look crazy.

Rei flung his arms and legs out which inevitably gave him more wind resistance and caused him to fall straight down knocking the pole he was supposed to jump over off of its place. The pole fell with him, hitting his arms harmlessly.

“I’m being ridiculous.” Ako smiled but the moisture in her eyes was telling a different story. “I’m being so funny, aren’t I, Nii-chan?”

Haru, Ayumu, and Makoto looked at each other then at Ako worriedly.

“He’s coming over here.” Nagisa said.

And true to form, Rei strolled over to them, adjusting his glasses as he walked. He kept walking until he stood in front of Haru. “I want to be like you, Nanase.” He said plainly.

Haru, taken aback by his honesty, pointed at Ako. “Which Nanase?” He asked.

Rei’s face became red like he’d forgotten that there were two people who answered to that name. “Both, I guess. But, the point is I want that kind of freedom.” He answered.

“It’s not freedom.” Haru answered.

Ako nodded, hand still intertwined with her brother’s. “It’s freestyle.”

Ayumu shook her head. Trust the Nanases to give such a vague answer.

“Ako.” Rei said, adjusting his glasses again. “Hazuki-san.” He closed his eyes. “I would like to…” He bowed abruptly. “formally join the swim club!” He shouted.

Ako gasped, tears leaking out of her eyes. “Rei!”

“What? Really?” Nagisa turned to Ako and they high-fived each other with both hands. “We did it, Ako-chan!”

Ako nodded. “We did it, Nagisa-ko!”

“However.” Rei said stiffly and both Nagisa and Ako stopped celebrating, turning to look at Rei. “Ako has been asking me to join for the entire time we knew each other and Hazuki-san was the first to formally invite me.” Rei straightened his back and looked at the two of them expectantly. “I expect you both to take responsibility… Ako, Nagisa.”

Nagisa and Ako’s eyes shone with excitement as they both tackled Rei into a hug. “You can count on us, Rei-chan!” They both cheered.

“Re-” Rei spluttered. “Rei-chan?”


	4. Episode 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei learns how to swim.

**EPISODE 4**

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

 

Gou raised their list of members and smiled victoriously. “We now officially have seven members!” She announced. “And it’s warming up outside so we will finally begin training in the pool today-”

Haru ran past her, Ako following behind him in a much slower pace. Haru dove in while Ako took her time bending at the start block and diving in at the perfect angle.

“Say what you want about Ako, but at least she has some self control. Not a lot but some.” Ayumu deadpanned. “The Nanases aren’t very good at staying away from water.”

“Hold on!” Gou frowned. “Could you guys listen to what I have to say first? Haruka-senpai? Ako? Please? Come on!” She sighed.

After explaining to Rei what the proper swimming terms were, Makoto and Nagisa dove into the water after the Nanases while Ayumu stayed out to watch Rei. “How long are you going to stretch? Ako was stretching with you five minutes ago but now she’s in the water.” Ayumu tilted her head at him.

Rei looked at her from the corner of his eye. “As long as I need to.”

Ayumu rolled her eyes. Why did she always end up with stubborn swimmers?

Nagisa and Makoto got out of the water. The blonde immediately noticed that Rei was still stretching. “Rei-chan, you aren’t done yet?” He asked.

“That’s what I said.” Ayumu shrugged.

Rei scowled. “I want to be as safe as possible.”

Makoto came over, seeing Nagisa and Ayumu’s worried faces. “You gonna be okay, Rei?” He asked. “You can take it slow. There’s no need to worry.” He reassured.

Rei straightened, adjusting his goggles with a smile. “I’ve mastered the theory behind swimming in the past few days.” He said proudly.

Ako coughed from where she was perched on the edge of the pool. “More like years.”

“I won’t embarrass myself again.” He insisted, ignoring Ako’s comment.

Rei set himself up on the starting block and dove. His entry was perfect. Unfortunately, his swimming was decidedly _not_.

For the rest of the afternoon, the boys - more like Nagisa and Makoto because now that Haru had a pool he’d be damned if he didn’t just swim as much as he pleased - tried to teach Rei to swim. Ayumu and Ako retreated to the other side of the pool and did laps in the right hand lanes while the boys used the left hand lanes.

Ako surfaced and caught sight of Gou sitting at the edge of the pool watching them. “Aren’t you getting in, Gou? We still have to teach you how to swim butterfly.” Ako asked.

“To be honest, Ako, I have no idea how to swim.” She confessed.

Ako nodded in understanding and smiled. “I figured as much, come into the water, I’ll teach you. You have a swimsuit, right?” She asked.

Gou slung her duffel over her shoulder and nodded. “I’ll change first.” She said before going into the club room.

Ayumu watched from where she’d surfaced for air and slipped quietly out of the pool. Ako loved swimming a lot, it’s one of the reasons she’s a good teacher. She knows Ako can handle it by herself. Right now…

She eyed another club room in the school and grinned. It’s time to get a certain breaststroke swimmer to join the club.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

  

Nitori couldn’t keep still after watching Rin’s practice.  “You’re amazing, Matsuoka-senpai!” He said for the hundredth time.

“You should stop talking about how amazing I am and focus on finding your own style.” Rin said, drying his hair with his shark towel.

“I’m a lost cause. I haven’t made any progress. I guess it comes down to talent.” Nitori smiled sadly. “I was really impressed by Nanase-san at our joint practice-”

“Which one?” Rin asked, cutting Nitori’s spiel off.

“Senpai?” Nitori tilted his head.

“Which Nanase?” Rin asked again with a sigh. Nitori really was hopeless sometimes.

Nitori perked up again, happy that Rin was at least contributing to the conversation and opening up. “Nanase Ako-san was good but I was impressed by Nanase Haruka-san more. He’s a great swimmer.” He stopped talking upon noticing the scary grin Rin was sporting. “Matsuoka-senpai?”

“Do you really think that…” He let the towel slip off and stared at Nitori darkly. “Nitori?”

Nitori jumped back in fear.

“They just started up their swim club and all of them except Ako and Ayumu haven’t practiced in years.” He stood up. “You can tell by looking at their bodies.” He frowned. “They haven’t been working out.” He tossed the towel back and went out to run again.

 _‘In those conditions, my win means nothing.’_ He thought, running until he could think about it no more.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

While Nagisa was chatting with Makoto and Haru about uniforms for the swim team, Ayumu snuck away to Gou’s classroom. She peered into the room and slipped inside when she saw that there were no teachers. “Gou-chan!” She greeted as she approached Gou who was taking a break with her friend Chigusa Hanamura.

“Ayumu-san, what’re you doing here?” She asked.

“Oh! I just remembered that you didn’t tell me about how practice with Ako went. Sorry for leaving early, I was scouting for a possible fourth girl member.” She explained.

Gou’s face brightened. “Ako is a pretty great teacher. Rin already taught me how to float when we were kids but since I could float, Ako taught me how to swim in a straight line while swimming backstroke. And then we tried a bit of front crawl but I couldn’t get the breathing down.” She explained. “I’m hoping I’ll finish up with the front crawl today so we can move on to butterfly.”

Chigusa blinked repeatedly. “Butterfly?” She asked.

“Oh! Hana-chan didn’t you used to swim breaststroke at your home town?” Gou smiled as both she and Ayumu drew closer to the brunette. “Hana-chan, why don’t you-”

“No.” Chigusa said quietly. “No, I’m in the calligraphy club!”

“Come on, the swim club needs one more for the medley and you swim breaststroke!” Gou pleaded. “It’s destiny!” She proclaimed and Ayumu almost stared at her and asked if she was actually Nagisa in disguise.

“Come to practice with Gou tomorrow.” Ayumu suggested. “Maybe you’ll like it.”

Ayumu was wrong. So very wrong. Because, on that same day, Gou announced that Rei had one week to learn how to swim or they couldn’t enter the team for any medleys in the regional tournaments. Why was it a mistake to bring Chigusa?

Rei was trying and failing to learn breaststroke.

With every mistake he made Chigusa looked more and more ready to kill the guy for butchering her favorite stroke. “How badly could he mess it up?” She groaned.

Gou, on the other hand, was steadily puttering around the pool doing short spurts of breaststroke thanks to Ako’s guidance. She ends up doing so well that Rei demands a change of teacher immediately so Chigusa ends up calling out to Gou the little tweaks she has to make to do an acceptable breaststroke.

Ako then does what she did with Gou to Rei and realizes fairly quickly that Rei won’t learn like this so she tells him about every technique she’s studied and tried out when it comes to breaststroke until even Nagisa is listening in and trying out some of said techniques.

“Alright, I’ve memorized all of the techniques. You can let go now, Ako.” He insisted.

Ako hesitated. “Are you sure?” She asked, mind going back to his plummet at Samezuka. “You don’t have to push yourself, Rei.”

Rei sighed and pried his hands away… promptly sinking to the bottom of the pool.

“Rei!” Ako got ready to dive but Rei surfaced, disappointed by his failure.

Rei stroked his jawline with his hand. “Why… Why? Why!”

The next day, Makoto and Ayumu tried teaching Rei the backstroke with the same results.

“Is he trying to fail?” Chigusa commented from the sidelines, sharing an iced candy with Ako who had the great idea to bring some in case they felt too warm.

“I’m surprised you’re back, Hana-san.” Ayumu grinned. “Could it be that you’re actually enjoying yourself?” She asked.

Chigusa looked around and shrugged. “The weather is nice. And Akio-chan was nice enough to bring these.” She gestured to her ice candy.

“Hana-chan, really. It’s Ako.” Ako sighed. “What are we doing tomorrow, then?”

Ako must have triggered a flag, because it rained the next day and they had to spend the day in the Nanase house where all the girls helped Ako make a healthier meal that wasn’t mackerel or pizza.

The last thing anyone expected however, was Chigusa speaking up.

“I’ll join the club.” She said.

Ako and Ayumu perked up and looked at her. “What?” They asked.

“I’ll join the swim club and be your breaststroke swimmer.” She smiled. “If Gou can learn Butterfly then it should be fun.”

Ako and Ayumu left their work for a bit to tell the boys. Gou, seeing an opportunity, went over to talk to her friend. “Why’d you change your mind all of a sudden?” She asked.

Chigusa smiled. “Ako-chan is a good swimmer. But she’s an even better teacher.” She said. “I want to know more about everyone and have fun with everyone. I want to see Ako-chan swim some more. I want to swim like her. So, I’m joining the club.” She explained.

Gou laughed. “Ah, you’re just like Rei.”

“I’m nothing like that guy! At least, I can actually swim!” Chigusa protested.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Sports Zero Shopping Center -_

* * *

 

Gou and Chigusa skim through the racks of swimwear. They already managed to buy their own gear and had their bags on their arms so now they were just waiting for the guys to finish up. “There are a lot to choose from.” Gou says as she continues to browse.

Next to Ako and Ayumu, Rei starts talking about the factors of a perfectly streamlined swimsuit and the importance of prescription goggles. Both girls laugh when Nagisa steals Rei’s glasses and does a scarily good imitation of Rei.

Haru, on the other hand, had about 5 different versions of black Mizuno swimsuits with violet highlights draped over his arms. “I’m going to try this on.” He explained to his sister as he disappeared into the fitting room.

This triggered a half an hour long fashion show featuring the boys trying on different swimsuits with Rei’s swimsuits becoming more and more flamboyant and gay as they went on.

“I’m going to get a drink.” Gou sighed, getting up from the bench they’d been sitting on.

Ako sighed. “I’ll come with you.

“Hana-chan and I will get some food, then.” Ayumu took Chigusa’s hand and dragged her off to the food stalls. “We’ll be back soon!” She called, waving as Gou and Ako left to find the vending machines.

Ako stretched, happy to be standing up and moving. “That was exhausting.”

“Yeah. Now I know how guys feel when they have to go shopping with girls.” She laughed.

From out of nowhere, a taller figure started running towards them both. “Yo!” He said with a grin and as he drew closer Ako realized he only knew one person who was this freakishly tall.

“Seijuro-san, hello.” She waved.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He said with a wave. “Are you two doing some shopping, then, Ako? Gou-kun?” He asked.

Gou glared at him. “Please don’t use Gou and -kun together.” She said lowly.

“We’re here to look for new swimsuits.” Seijuro continued to ramble, unaware of Gou’s discontent. “I’m so happy!”

“Does that mean… Onii-chan.” Gou said, turning at the same time as Ako only to see Haru and Rin leaving the store together.

Ako and Gou nod and chase after them, Seijuro following behind them curiously. They stopped at the entrance of the shopping center. “Onii-chan didn’t buy anything even if he wanted to get a new swimsuit.” Ako said.

“This isn’t good.” Gou said as all three of them kept quiet to listen to their conversation.

Rin spoke first. “Haru, what have you been doing the past three years?” He asked. “You’re better than this.” He sighed.

“I’m not better than someone who just got back from Australia.” Haru didn’t waste any time replying.

Rin gritted his teeth. “Are you mocking me?”

“I’m not.” Haru insisted. “You won our race.”

“It’d be hard not to beat you in the shape you’re in. Heck, if Ako hadn’t already spent her energy racing Ayu then she would’ve beaten you. She should have been eighteen seconds behind you but she was only six seconds back.” Rin said, turning to actually look Haru in the eye.

Ako’s eyes widened. So Rin _was_ watching that day.

“A win is a win.” Haru replied half-heartedly. “You won. Isn’t that good enough?” He asked, looking away.

“It’s not!” Rin answered. “I want a real race or else…” He looked down and Ako might have been too far to see clearly but it looked like Rin was sad. “I can’t move on.”

Haru stared at him thoughtfully before walking away. “You’re a pain.” He said as he turned to leave. “I only swim free. I won’t swim for you.”

Ako and Gou frowned, there was too much they didn’t know. They couldn’t fix this without knowing whatever it was that happened to Rin in Australia that made him act like this. “Lets go.” Ako said, trying to go back inside with Gou.

A rattling sound caught their attention and the next thing they knew Rin had Haru pinned to the fence. “You’re going to swim for me.” He growled. 

Ako stormed past the entrance of the shopping center, ignoring Gou and Seijuro’s pleas to calm down, and approached the brawling teens. “Nii!” She shouted, clutching the back of Rin’s shirt with small hands.

“Ako?” Haru blinked several times to see if what he was seeing was an apparition or if it was truly his little sister trying to pry Rin off of him. “Ako, I’m okay-” 

“I know you told me never to talk to you again…” Ako cut in, shocking Haru and Gou in the process. “But Gou would feel the same if it were you. So, please Rin, I swear I’ll never talk to you again after this but please don’t blame all your frustrations and problems on a race you lost to Haru _three years ago_.” She screamed, pulling Rin towards her so he was facing her.

Rin stared into those eyes, the eyes that uses to follow him everywhere with adoration now only held anger. “In other words, stop being such an asshole to my brother.” She said, taking Haru by the arm and walking away with him. “You can have your race at prefecturals, but don’t cry if you lose, Matsuoka.”

Gou stared at Ako as she passed her.

“We’re leaving, Gou. Please tell the others to finish up, we’ll be waiting at the train station.” Ako said sternly.

“A-Alright.” Gou sprinted back into the shopping center to tell everyone.

Seijuro approached the still gaping redhead.

“Got something to add, Captain?” Rin asked.

Seijuro considered it but inevitably shook his head. “I think she covered all the bases.” He said, looking down at his underclassman he couldn’t help but smile. “She’s a real catch, isn’t she?” He asked.

“Who, Ako?” Rin raised a brow at him, baffled by the sudden change in topic. “She’s… something.”

“When did you two meet?” He asked.

Rin’s eyebrows furrowed. “I thought you said the past doesn’t matter to you.” Rin retorted.

“I have a... vested interest.” Seijuro winked.

Rin glared at him, baring his pointy shark teeth. “I’ve known her since before I moved to Australia.” He answered.

“You used to go to school at Iwatobi Elementary.” Seijuro grinned. “I saw that relay too.” He said, patting Rin on the shoulder. “You better straighten yourself out before regionals, Matsuoka. It wouldn’t do to lose in front of your childhood crush.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Middle School -_

* * *

 

“I like you, Mako-chan.” Ako said, her face completely blank. She’s never looked more like Haru than in this moment and it makes Makoto smile.

“I like you too, Ako-chan.” He grinned.

Ako sighed, having expected an answer like that.

Ako went out of her way that day to walk home with Makoto alone. She told Makoto she was having a hard time with a Japanese Literature homework - his specialty - and told Haru to cook her mackerel for when she got home. She made sure Ayumu was busy at the swim club that day with Ikuya and Asahi until they had to go home. She’d even pleaded with Ikuya to keep them both occupied should worst come to worst.

It’s not that she expected Makoto to like her back. In the back of her mind, she knew he and Haru would be together forever just as they always had been in a way that even she and Ayu weren’t. 

Still, she’d wanted to tell him.  She wanted to be able to say it because she couldn’t say it to Rin. And now, Rin is gone. Soon, Makoto would be gone. And Haru would go with him, because Haru loves Makoto. Then she would have just Ayu again.

She clutched the fabric of the ribbon of her school uniform. She was so tired, so tired of feeling so much love and having no one to give it to.

“Makoto. I _like_ you. In other words, I have a crush on you, Mako.” She tried again, smiling when Makoto stopped walking. “It’s okay, Mako-chan. I know.” She felt tears trail down her cheeks and dot her uniform. “I know-”

“I love Haru-chan.” He whispered.

Ako choked on a sob. “I know you do. I just wanted to say it.” She smiled even as tears clouded her vision. “I just… I have so much to say. I’ve got no one to say it to.” She admitted. 

Makoto was quiet for a long time until long arms reached around her to pull her into a hug. “I promise you, Ako-chan, that for making you cry you can tell me anything, everything you can’t say. And I won’t tell Haru or Ayu. I won’t tell anyone ever in my whole life.” He said as she shook and sobbed into his shirt. 

Ako wheezed and coughed out a laugh. “You promise?” She asked, raising her shaky pinky in the air.

Makoto twined his pinky around hers and nodded. “I promise as your crush, I won’t tell anyone.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

Ako didn’t come to school the next day. 

“She had a fever.” Haru said but Ayumu knew better. There was no way Ako would miss her morning exercise even with a fever and that was exactly what she did.

On top of that, Haru finally got off his ass and taught Rei how to swim front crawl but in the end Rei couldn’t do that either. He and Haru sat in a corner, watching butterflies, and in the pool Gou continued to do laps of her newly acquired butterfly stroke.

“I couldn’t have done it without Ako-chan. So, I’m hoping to perfect it before she gets to school tomorrow.” She said, waving to Ayumu as she and Chigusa left. The only people that remained were her, Rei and Haru. “Hey, Rei.”

Rei looked up and walked towards her, letting Haru change so he could go home and check on Ako. “Yes, Gou-san?” He said, sitting on the edge of the pool. 

“Since you tried all the other strokes, why don’t you learn butterfly?” She suggested.

Rei blinked. “You’d teach me butterfly?” He asked.

“Well, it’s tough. But I’ll tell you everything Ako told me. We can surprise her together by practicing before club hours.” Gou smiled.

Rei nodded. “It’s a great idea, Gou-san.” He praised.

“Of course it is.” Gou smirked. “I’m full of good ideas.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Nanase House -_

* * *

 

When Ako came out of her room that night to see if Haru made any dinner she didn’t expect to find Makoto there bearing assorted tuna and salmon sushi plates. “Mako-chan?” She tilted her head.

“Haru went over to watch the twins with Ayu.” He gestured to the food. “I told him I’d check on you.” He smiled.

“Is this you forcing me to take you up on your offer to listen to me vent?” She asked, sitting down and picking up a salmon roll with her chopsticks. It’s white with dolphins painted onto it, something Haru had gotten for her when they were younger. 

Makoto leaned onto the table giving her his best listening face. “As your former crush, I promise not to tell anyone.” He smiled.

“Not even Haru?” She asked.

“Not even Haru.” He extends a pinky out to her. “Deal?”

Ako smirked. “Deal, Mako-chan.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

 

When Ako arrived at the pool the next day it was to the shocking sight of someone swimming butterfly.

A _guy_ someone.

She’ll give you a hint, it’s Rei.

Ako dropped her duffel bag on the ground, jaw hanging open in shock. “Rei.” Her eyes teared up as she jumped into the air. “Rei, you’re swimming! Rei!” She shouted, waiting for him to surface near the starting block and promptly jumping into the pool to give him a hug. “Rei… you did it. You did it! You swam butterfly.”

“Ako-chan.” He said in his surprise and blushed. “Ako, it’s because of what you taught Gou-san that I could do it.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

Ako pulled Rei down and hugged him tighter. “I’m proud of you.” 

“Why is Ako trying to drown Rei?” Nagisa asked, confused. 

“Rei learned how to swim butterfly!” Ako’s eyes shone brightly as she looked up at Rei. “Hey, lets race and show everyone!”

Rei smirked. “Alright, but I’m warning you, Ako-chan.” He said, adjusting his goggles. “My technique is perfected and far from your technique.” His voice filled with confidence, he took his position on the starting block.

Ako snapped her goggles on and grinned. “Bring it on, Rei-chan.”


	5. Episode 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training on the not so deserted island happens but it goes much worse and much better than in canon.

**EPISODE 5**

_\- Iwatobi, Swim Club -_

* * *

  

The moment Ayumu and Ako step out into the pool area, Nagisa started waving a pair of jackets in their faces. It was white with light blue highlights. The word Iwatobi was printed across the back in big letters and Ako frowned a bit at it because she’d been hoping that they’d take her advice and put their names on there too or a chibi of them but apparently it would be too expensive.

“Look at this!” Nagisa yelled, shoving on his jacket. “Our new uniforms arrived!” He twirled around showing it off.

“The jackets are nice.” Rei reached down to pull up the back of Nagisa’s jacket. “But, what is this thing on the t-shirt?” He sighed.

On the back of a truly blinding yellow shirt was a drawing of Iwatobi with it’s mask off. “That’s the secret Iwatobi version. Since Rei didn’t want us to put Iwatobi on our uniforms.” Nagisa explained.

Ako frowned. “Haru’s drawing gets to be on the back of the shirt but my chibis of us don’t?” She pouted and Ayumu patted her head.

“Why don’t you try yours on, Ako?” She grinned, getting her phone out from her bag when she was pretending to put her jacket in it.

Ako, all too excited about getting a jacket (she loves jackets), immediately put the jacket on. The size was a tad too big for her but the overall effect was adorable with the sleeves going a little past her hands so you could only see her fingertips. “I wish it had a hood.” She said. Unbeknownst to her, Ayumu was snickering and taking pictures while she twirled around in her new jacket.

Ayumu opened up her contact list and found the name she was looking for.

Matsuoka Rin.

She sent it to his number and prayed to God he hadn’t changed it after they’d last seen each other.

“Let’s get started.” Makoto clapped twice to get everyone’s attention.

Everyone moved to form a line in front of Makoto as he started reading from a clipboard he’d gotten from Gou. Ayumu’s posture straightened as Makoto started asking what events everyone would participate in for prefecturals. She was proud of him and of his sudden effectiveness as team captain. As team captain of the team when they were in middle school, she couldn’t help but sympathize with him.

Chigusa raised her hand. “I’ll be doing just the 100 meter breaststroke since it’s been a long time.” She grinned. “Gou said she would try just the 100 meter butterfly because she’s not too sure about the strength of her butterfly stroke yet.”

Makoto nodded, writing it down on the clipboard. “What are you swimming, Ako?” Haru asked and Haru looked at his little sister.

Ako thought about it and smiled. “I’ll be doing the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle of course, but I might also fill in for the 200 meter butterfly.” She answered.

“That’s both of your specialties, then.” Makoto hesitated, his pen hovering over the paper. “Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?” He asked.

“I want to.” She nodded. “It’ll be fun.”

Makoto wrote it down and turned to his twin, smiling. “I’m guessing since Ako’s done it then you’ll do both 100 and 200 for backstroke and then 200 meter breaststroke?” He raised a brow at her.

“Oh! You read my mind, Ainiki.” Ayumu winked.

Makoto wrote it down enthusiastically. “Well, since most of us haven’t been swimming for a while I recommend short distances since stamina will be a big issue. Ako and Ayu kept swimming and stamina is their strength so they should be fine but you shouldn’t push yourselves too hard anyway.” He said, pointedly staring at Ako and Ayumu when he said that last part.

“That leaves the relay.” Ayumu said, noticing that Makoto didn’t seem to want to say it himself.

Haru turned his head away and Makoto caved. “I guess we can wait to make that decision.” He said.

Gou burst out of the club room raising a poster in the air like a flag into battle. “I found something amazing!” She shouted.

Ayumu walked over to humor her and read the poster. “Iwatobi High School Swim Club Summer Training Camp from Hell on a Deserted Island.” She raised a brow at the poster. “That’s not a very catchy name. It’s a _mouthful_.”

“It sounds fun!” Nagisa cheered, pushing past Ayumu to grab the poster.

“It was the regiment back when the school used to have a swim club.” Gou explained. “We should steal it and hold a training camp on a deserted island to prepare for prefecturals!” She suggested.

It was beginning to really scare Ako how truly alike she and Nagisa were. How was she related to Rin?

“Too much effort.” Haru shut her down, dipping his legs into the pool.

Gou pointed at Haru. “No complaining! Look at the regiment they used!” She turned the poster around and showed them a drawing of what looked like a map. “They swam long distances in the ocean-”

Ako and Ayumu stiffened. “No.”

Gou frowned. “But look, they moved from one island to the next! It’s perfect for building stamina-” She insisted.

Ako stepped forward and gave her the Nanase Look of complete disinterest. “Too much effort.” She said quietly.

“You really are brother and sister.” Gou’s eyes widened. “Anyway, let’s hold a training camp!” Gou threw a fist up into the air.

“This is way too stupid.” she said and Ayumu nodded in agreement.

“Your decision, Captain?” Gou asked.

Ako and Ayumu crossed their fingers and both gave Makoto pleading looks.

Unfortunately, the excitement in Nagisa, Gou, and Chigusa’s eyes won him over. “I guess it’s a good idea to hold a training camp to prepare for prefecturals.” He smiled.

Ako sighed and Ayumu groaned in frustration.

“Why do we always have to worry about these idiots?” Ayumu asked.

Ako rolled her eyes. “Because we’re the only ones with common sense, apparently.” She retorted.

“And Haru.”

“And Onii-chan… _sometimes_.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Tachibana House -_

* * *

 

By the time the day ends the world seems to have heard both of the girls’ pleas because it’s thrown every obstacle it could for them not to hold a summer training camp. 

Too bad, because Makoto has decided to step up and keep pushing for it.

The look of annoyance on Haru’s face is enough to show how all three of them feel about this. Haru continues to bite angrily at his blue ice popsicle until they all reach the Tachibana residence.

“We’re home! Ran! Ren! Onee-chan is here!” Ayumu cheered as she was ambushed by her twin siblings. Behind them, a puppy bounded through the door and tried to join the group hug. “You too, Kacchan!”

The puppy eagerly licked Ayumu in the face and barked at Nagisa who tried to pick him up. “Ayu-chan! Why doesn’t your dog like me?” He frowned.

Still bitter from Nagisa practically forcing Makoto to swim in the ocean, she glared at him. “Because you’re annoying.” She spat.

“Eh? But Ayu-chan you love me!” He protested.

Ako laughed and moved to kneel in front of the goldfish grave. She folded her hands in prayer and sent a word up to the gods to let Makoto’s goldfish come back as something that will watch over Makoto.

“Kami-sama…” She sighed. “We need all the help we can get watching after these dorks.” To her surprise, Haru knelt down next to her and folded his hands too. “Ainiki?” She asked softly.

Haru was silent for a while. “Help us, Kami-sama.”

They must not have prayed enough because they decided to dump all the stuff for the camping trip in the Nanases’ house.

Ako and Ayumu sat on the stairs, looking up at the sky later that night. Makoto and Haru must have had a talk about Makoto’s “issue”.

“I still agree that this is a stupid idea.” Ayumu sighed. “But, I can’t get Mako to call it off.”

Ako thought about that day. She and Ayu were at the SC learning how to swim. Ako remembered coming home and excitedly running up the steps of the torii, the same steps they were sitting on, and calling out to Haru only for their parents to explain to her that he’d be staying with Makoto that night because Mako’s fisherman friend was in an accident. She had asked if the man was okay and the moment their mother hugged her Ako knew he wasn’t. She knew he wasn’t coming back.

“We’re just going to have to come along and save their asses.” Ako sighed.

Ayumu nodded. “Boys.” She held out a fist to Ako.

“Boys are dumb.” Ako answered, bumping Ayumu’s fist with her own.

They sat on the stairs until the sun came up.

 

* * *

_\- Not a Deserted Island -_

* * *

  

As soon as Coach Sasabe left with the boat Ayumu opened the coolers of food to sate her curiosity.

 

Ayumu stared blankly at the cooler of pizza. “Lame. I hope the other one is good.” She opened the second cooler and glared when she found that it was full of frozen mackerel. She turned to Haru. “Please tell me you didn’t just pack mackerel!” She sneered.

“Don’t worry, Ayu-chan.” Ako said in a calm voice. “I put sausages and pork and chicken and even a tuna in mine so we have variation.” She said, hoisting up her light blue cooler.

Ayumu and Gou nearly cried in relief. “Thank you, Ako-chan.” Ayumu said, faux-wiping a tear from her eye. “You’re an angel. No wonder Onii-chan liked you so much when you were kids.” Gou added.

Ako’s face turned bright red. Ayumu and Gou high-fived each other as they each started carrying a cooler.

“Hey!” Rei called out, running towards them. “Come over here!” He said, pointing in the general direction of what looked like a building with a glass ceiling in the middle of some foliage.

The building turned out to be an indoor sports facility and inside the sports facility were a familiar group from a certain all-male school.

“Inoe! Yamanaka! Mutsumi! You’re falling behind!” Captain Mikoshiba Seijuro yelled loud enough for even the Iwatobi crew to hear. “Pick up the pace!”

“Why is Samezuka’s swim team here?” Makoto asked, quite belatedly in Ayumu’s opinion. But it was an insane coincidence that they picked the same island to train on

Nagisa gasped. “Oh, Rin’s here!”

The mood simultaneously soured and sweetened. Soured for the Nanase siblings; Haru was still low-key mad about the whole Rin told Ako never to speak to him again and Ako was… still in love with Rin (or so Ayumu thinks) but concerned about his off-putting behavior. For Ayumu however, it was all too good to be true for her match-making endeavors.

“We should go say hello, then!” Nagisa suggested.

“No.” Both Nanases say at the same time. Haru looked to Ako and spoke first, hoping to cover up for her with his own reasoning. “I promised him we would meet at prefecturals.” He explained.

Ayu and Makoto looked at their respective Nanases and frowned.

“Right, we need to start our training.” Ayumu concluded.

The eight members of the Iwatobi team returned to the beach where Makoto explained their route through the three islands they would swim to and then run through. The distance to each island was approximately a kilometer which was basically 10 laps in a pool per island and then a kilometer of running per island including the beach they were currently set up on.

“Our goal is to complete three circuits by friday.” Makoto said, closing the map.

Ako raised a brow at him. “I doubt we’d finish that with the state the team is in.” She shrugged. “Maybe we should give Gou, Chigusa, and Rei a different regimen that they can do together while one of us supervises?” She suggested.

From someone else, it would sound arrogant. But, Ayumu understood. It was the logical thing to do to let the beginners train by going from the beach to the island and back to get in more repetition so their muscles would memorize the movement in swimming rather than improve stamina for the first day. They’d need more time to warm up to swimming than they had at the moment.

And then there was the matter of Makoto, Haru, and Nagisa not swimming for the past three years. They themselves needed more time to warm up their swimming skills so to speak.

The logical plan was for the three boys and two girls to do the circuit with a partner and one of them would trade off with the person supervising the beginners. Ako and Ayumu could go a circuit as a pair of their own since she and Ako trained using a similar regimen on each weekend and Ako on every weekday.

“No.” Rei said stubbornly. “I’ll do what everyone else is doing.” He insisted.

Ako frowned at her friend. “That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth, Rei.”

Ayumu nearly flinched at her tone but she was much too surprised that she voiced what they were both thinking. “It is rather a dumb idea coming from an athlete.” She added.

“I’ve studied up on the concepts of long distance swimming, Ako-chan.” He said, moving his hand up to adjust his glasses only to blush when he realized they weren’t there.

Ako stepped forward and smacked Rei up the back of his head. “You did the same thing with swimming, reading up on all those books.” She stared up at him. “But did you ever learn how to swim?” She asked.

This time Ayumu really did flinch. When Ako thought someone was doing something stupid that could get them killed she was _savage_.

Finally realizing how tense everyone had become, Ako sighed. “You know more than I do that giving a beginner a pro’s regimen is stupid, Rei. This isn’t a pool. We can’t just dive in and help you. This is the ocean. You’re not the only one at risk anymore.” She explained.

Makoto nodded, glad that it didn’t escalate any further. “You may know the concepts perfectly, but the ocean is a dangerous place. If any of you want to do the same regimen you should use kickboards or inflatables.” He said, motioning helpfully to Haru.

“Take your pick.” Haru says with a dark look on his face.

Rei blanches at the expression on Haru’s face but mostly at how disgraceful all the choices are. “It’s not beautiful.” He cringes.

“Haru must be really offended that you upset Ako-chan.” Makoto laughed when Haru leveled the same dark look at him. “Just go with the kickboard, Rei.” He said.

Nagisa shot up into the air. “Let’s start training!” He screamed, running to the ocean.

“Wait! Nagisa! Don’t waste all your energy on the first sprint-” Ako yelled, running after the blonde. “Nagisa! Stop it! Wait for everyone else!” She said as they both entered the water.

Ayumu shook her head.

“She says that but she ended up getting in the water first.” Chigusa snickered, following after their erstwhile leader with Gou close behind her. “Come on, Ayumu. We can’t have the boys beat us!” She said, plunging into the water.

A blur went past Ayumu and it only took a second to know it was Haru diving into the water after his sister.

Makoto and Rei caught up after him, surveying the mess of swimmers in the water. Ako was already one fourth of the way to the next island chasing after Nagisa, Haru wasn’t far behind her with Gou and Chigusa following in his wake.

“Looks like we’ll be your escorts, Rei.” Ayumu winked. “All aboard the Tachibana Express!” She saluted.

Once all three of them were on their way, they noticed Haru circling back to them. “Something wrong up front, Haru?” Ayumu asked.

Haru shook his head and took his place next to Makoto.

Makoto blinked at his friend and smiled. “I’m fine, Haru.”

Haru turned away and dove into the water presumably to hide his red face.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Beach front -_

* * *

  

“Ako-chan!” Makoto called out worriedly from the beach. “Ako-chan, don’t go too far out! There are whirlpools there!” He warned.

Ako looked back to face Makoto and waved. “I’m fine, Mako-chan!” She grinned, pointing to Haru and Rin racing towards her with Nagisa close behind. “Anyway, Onii-chan is here if I need to be saved-”

A seagull dove down to drink in front of Ako causing the girl to scream and splash pulling her into the current of a whirlpool.

Rin, alerted by the sound, stopped and turned to find Ako trying to swim out of the current unsuccessfully. “Ako!” He shouted, swimming frantically towards her.

Ako froze at Rin’s voice calling her name. It occurs to her in that moment that Rin has not spoken to her, hasn’t called her by name, until this very moment. He stillness is what eventually draws her closer to the eye of the whirlpool.

“Ako! Hold on, I’m coming!” Rin shouted, reaching out and grabbing her forearm with his arm. “Don’t let go of me, Ako. You need to swim, alright? Swim like you do in the pool, okay? Swim really quickly.” Rin insisted, his breaths growing shorter as Ako got dragged into the whirlpool. Rin realized belatedly that she was in shock and couldn’t hear him. “Ako!” He shook her arm and nearly collapsed in relief when she started to blink. “Ako, you need to help me take you back, _now_.”

“You’re taking me back.” She said, sounding lost.

Rin nodded, finding a large rock to plant his feet on. “I’m taking you back to Haru.”

“O-Okay.” Ako nodded, plunging her head into the water to paddle with her free arm.

“That’s great, Ako. I’ll pull you back now.” He said, digging his feet in painfully into the crevices of the rock. He breathed in and plunged his head into the water pulling Ako out of the current with all his strength.

Ako and Rin careened back because of the force. Scared that Ako would somehow sink and hit her head in the corals, he pulled her to his chest and pushed them to the surface.

They both surfaced gasping for air.

“Ako-chan!” Makoto screamed, diving into the water to reach them.

Haru swam to them, reaching out to take Ako from Rin. The redheaded boy frowned but handed her to her brother, Ako’s warmth slipping through his fingertips.

“Don’t ever do that again.” Haru said, pulling his sister in for a hug that was swiftly joined by Makoto and Nagisa.

Ako’s shivering ceased as she slumped against her brother’s lean figure. “Rin brought me back.” She whispered.

Haru turned to look at Rin. “Yes, he did.” He nodded in thanks. “Thank you, Rin.”

“Any time.” Rin smiled softly, still staring at Ako.

 

* * *

_\- Not a Deserted Island -_

* * *

  

In the end, they were only able to reach the first island before needing to go back due to fatigue. “Chigusa, Gou, and Rei put in a valiant effort for beginners.” Ako said. She’s been acting seriously since the beginning of the camp and Ayumu is starting to get seriously worried. “If I only started swimming recently and was a decently fit person I wouldn’t have made it to the first island at all.” She added.

“I’ll do better tomorrow.” Rei said, his brows furrowed in frustration.

Ako frowned but patted Rei on the shoulder anyway. “You always do your best at everything so we’re not worried about that.” She smiled, her first real big smile of the day. “Just take care of yourself out there, alright?” She asked.

Rei thought about this for a moment and smiled back at her. “I’ll catch up in no time.”

Ako rolled her eyes and shoved him in Nagisa’s direction where the blonde started to excitedly hug him telling him how great he was out there.

Seconds later, Miss Amakata came bearing food and Nagisa redirected his attention from praising Rei to praising the barbecue.

“Oh no! I forgot to bring seasoning!” Miss Amakata frowned, distressed by her mistake.

Gou stepped forward immediately to calm her down. “I’ll go borrow some from the lodge.” She said, turning to go.

“I’ll come with you.” Ayumu smirked.

As Ayumu ran with Gou back to the lodge where Miss Amakata was staying Gou couldn’t help but think that Ayumu knew something she didn’t.

Passing by a convenience store, Gou ran into a boy walking out with plastic bags on each arm. “I’m sorry!” Gou apologized to the silver haired boy wearing a black shirt with a shark on it.

Wait, a shark?

“You’re Matsuoka’s-” The silver haired boy said before stepping aside for his upperclassman.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Rin - RIN! - as he strolled out of the convenience store, his eyes widening when he sees the two girls. “Ayu? _Gou_?” He clicks his tongue. “Nitori, you go back first.”

 _‘Ah, this must be the Ai-chan that Ako was talking about.’_ Ayumu thought as she followed Rin and Gou to a nearby park with a bench. Rin and Gou sat on one bench and Ayumu sat on the bench opposite them not wanting to intrude on their conversation.

“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Gou said.

Rin looked at her, brow raised in a way that reminds Ayumu of Ako. Wow, she missed Ako already. “It’s not?” He asked and Ayumu nearly snorted. “Haru and the rest of them are here, right?” He added.

“They are.” Gou answered. “But it’s purely coincidence. We happen to be here for a training camp!” She added when Rin’s expression took a turn for the suspicious.

“Training camp? We’re using the pool. Where are they swimming?” Rin sounded even more confused than when they started talking which was ridiculous because without the pool where else would they swim? It was really a simple question to answer.

Still, Gou looked down and answered. “The ocean.”

Gou’s gaze was too low to see the fear in the widening of Rin’s eyes but Ayumu was looking and Ayumu saw it. Proof that Rin didn’t hate them. Rin was _concerned_ for them. Rin still cared even if he acted like he didn’t.

“Makoto’s okay with that?” He asked and Ayumu inhaled sharply.

No, Makoto was not. But, he forced himself to be okay with it. For the Team.

“Huh?” Gou looked up, catching a glimpse of care in her brother’s eyes just before they turned apathetic again.

Rin turned away from her. “Forget it. Never mind.”

This time Ayumu really did snort in amusement earning a glare from Rin. “Ako is fine, by the way.” She said.

“I didn’t ask if she was.” He retorted.

“Oh, but didn’t you text me to ask if she got home alright after we came home from shopping for swim gear?” She smirked.

Gou gasped and turned to look at her brother. “You still have that crush on Ako-chan?” She asked.

“Wait, what? I don’t have a crush on Ako. I’ve never had a crush on Ako. And I never will have a crush on Ako.” He said, pointing at Gou.

Ayumu got up to sit next to Gou. “He totally still likes her.” She whispered conspiratorially.

“Oi.” Rin glared at them.

“We need to tell Hana-chan so we can come up with a plan.” Gou agreed, nodding.

“Oi, I’m right here.” Rin growled at the two plotting girls.

“Hey, I was wondering though, why does Ako-chan wear her goggles even when she’s out casually?” Gou asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

Rin snorts. “She still keeps them on her head like a headband, then?” Rin guessed and Gou grinned as her brother took the bait, winking at Ayumu.

Ayumu raised a brow at her before catching the meaning behind her wink and answering. “Well, you see, Ako’s always had the firm belief that opportunities happen to anyone at any time so-” She laughs. “Really, it’s Haru’s fault for telling her to always be prepared to jump into the water. Unlike Haru, she’s a girl so she can’t exactly strip and get into the water. But, like Haru, she likes to be prepared for any chance to swim.”

“Wait, you mean-” Ayumu nodded and Gou nearly burst out laughing. “She wears her swimsuit under her clothes too?” She asked.

Ayumu shrugged. “Only when she thinks there might be a serious chance to swim. She’s a little more reasonable than Haru but not by much.” She snickers.

Behind Gou, Rin seemed to stifle his own laughter. “You seem pretty happy.” Ayumu said, disappointed when Rin immediately shook out the expression of happiness on his face. “It’s nice to see you smiling, Rin.” She said.

“You guys can do what you want.” He cleared his throat and got up. “I’m only going to meet you for as long as it takes until I beat Haru.” He turned to glare at them one last time. “That’s all I care about.”

He took a few steps forward and was stopped by Ayumu’s laughter.

“Rin.” She grinned. “You’re still a terrible liar.”

Rin’s face became slightly red but he shook that off too. “I’ll walk you both back to wherever you’re staying.” He said.

“We’re staying at the beach with Chigusa, Ako, and the boys.” Ayumu explained. “But Miss Amakata is staying in the inn right there, we came to ask for seasoning because they forgot to bring it.” She said, pointing to the inn a little ways away.

Rin eyed the inn and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Gou’s eyes lit up as she chased after her brother and stood at his right side with Ayu at his left. Both girls grinned and looked at each other knowingly.

“What?” Rin snarled.

“Nothing.” They both said, giggling.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Swim Club -_

* * *

  

Rin jumped up and down in excitement. Their relay was definitely going to win the race today. He was as sure of that as his future in swimming. The team he had behind him was the best, and while there were a few hiccups particularly with getting Haru to join and that unfortunate beach outing where Haru’s sister - _sister_ , he still can’t believe a guy like Haru could have a sister - nearly got sucked into a whirlpool and yeah that time Haru nearly drowned catching a girl’s scarf when it flew away and drifted into a river. “Yeah! We’re definitely going to win today! I can feel it in my-” He shouted, turning to face his teammates who were walking away from him to the other side of the pool. “Guys, where are you going? Our relay is up next!” He asked.

Haru stopped and raised a brow at Rin. “Ako.” He said.

“Ako?” Rin tilted his head. “Your sister?”

Haru nodded and then kept walking with a single minded focus Rin only saw when he was swimming freestyle. Makoto followed him, naturally.

Nagisa grabbed Rin by the arm and started dragging him with them. “Ako-chan’s got a race today!” Nagisa said helpfully, guiding Rin to the bleachers where Haru and Makoto were already perched ready to cheer for his little sister.

“I thought she already won the girls’ freestyle race today.” Rin tilted his head.

Nagisa raised a peace sign at him and waved it around in the air. “Ako-chan’s got two races today.” He grinned and the peace sign, Rin realized, was actually supposed to symbolize the number two. “She said she’s been practicing really hard in case you watch.”

Rin blinked in confusion and pointed at himself. “Me?” He asked, Nagisa forcing him to take a set between himself and Makoto.

“Ako-chan really admires you, Rin-chan.” Nagisa smiled widely.

Makoto’s gasp and shout of ‘It’s Ako-chan!’ drew everyone’s gazes to the stream of young girls lining up at one end of the pool.

“Ako!” Haru shouted and Rin had to make sure his mouth didn’t fall off his face because Haru never shouted. He’s never heard Haru shout in his life. “You can do it.” He said blandly in a loud-ish tone.

Ako, for some strange reason, heard all of it and raised a thumb in the air. “I’ll do my best, Onii-chan!” She nodded and then drew her goggles down, snapping the rubber like Rin usually did.

Rin felt his face redden as he ignored the pointed look Nagisa was giving him.

Ako pulled the dark blue swim cap over her head and took her place at the starting block. All four boys leaned forward, waiting for the whistle. Coach Sasabe blew the whistle, a loud and shrill blow, and Ako jumped in.

Rin’s eyes widened in shock at the familiarity of her stroke.

Ako was swimming butterfly.

“ ** _Ike, Ako-chan!_** ” Nagisa and Makoto stood up, shouting.

“Ike, Ako!” Haru followed in suit, all three of them chanting together as Ako steadily separated from the pack. She immediately garnered a sizeable lead on the other swimmers and was increasing her pace exponentially with every stroke.

Rin stared as she dove down and performed a swift turn. Her kick was strong and despite her small frame she was _fast_.

“Last stretch, Ako-chan!” Nagisa and Makoto screamed, this time with Rin chanting along with all three of his teammates.

Ako’s name on the scoreboard was almost as good to see as their own team’s name when they won the relay right after.

 

> 1  Nanase Akio


	6. Episode 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens on the island, stays on the island.

**EPISODE 6**

_\- Not a Deserted Island -_

* * *

 

 

Nanase Ako was a very heavy sleeper. Once she was a sleep no force short of shoving her out of bed could wake her up.

Tachibana Ayumu is almost as bad as her to be honest, but when one hears shouting from one’s twin one would definitely wake the fuck up to see what’s wrong with said twin.

 

“Ako-chan.” Ayumu rubbed at her face groggily, trying to shake the younger girl awake. “Ako-chan, something’s up.” She shoved the girl sideways and earned a Nanase Glare from the now awake younger Nanase.

“Ayu, you know if I wake up there’s no going back to sleep for me.” She complained.

The tent flaps flew open revealing a panicked Chigusa and Gou. Both girls started talking really quickly while gesturing to the ocean. “Wait! Haru-chan! It’s not safe to go alone!” A third voice cut through the panic and Ako shot up, catching sight of Haru and Nagisa swimming towards two other figures further out in the ocean.

“Onii-chan!” She squinted at the figures in the ocean, if Nagisa and Haru were near the shore that meant that Makoto and Rei were out there in the eye of the storm. Ako gasped and got to her feet sprinting towards the water. “Mako-chan! Rei-chan!” She shouted.

Ayumu, who had come to the same conclusion, ran with Ako. She wasn’t about to let her twin drown. Not tonight when it seemed like Makoto had just started getting over his fear of the sea.

They both skidded to a stop when the water reached their knees, their minds catching up to them as they thought of what they should do. Logically, the boys had the strength that they didn’t have. They might be a burden to them if they swam out there like Makoto was quickly becoming in spite of his good intentions.

Just as their minds were made up two figures passed them by.

To their surprise, Gou and Chigusa reached the ocean ahead of them and started paddling.

“We’re not letting you boys go alone!” Gou shouted, pushing herself out into the open water.

Ako moved quickly and dove in chasing after the younger Matsuoka. “Gou!” She shouted, pushing her head above the water. This wasn’t good. A glance at the horizon proved that the boys were no longer anywhere to be found. Something had happened while she was trying to catch up to Gou. She grit her teeth, now wasn’t the time to worry about the boys even if her brother could possibly be dead. Haru would never be hurt by his beloved water and she would hold onto that while she stops Gou from being the second person Rin loses to the ocean.

Behind her, Ako heard an ominous gurgling noise as Chigusa sunk into the water. Ayumu was close behind and managed to hoist the girl up on her strong back. “Ako! Grab Gou!” She shouted, almost inaudible over the sound of crashing waves.

Nonetheless, Ako heard her loud and clear, paddling harder than she ever paddled in her life until she finally reached a tired Gou. “I’ve got you, Gou.” She said, fighting the heaviness of her eyelids. She wanted to sleep but now wasn’t the time. She had to get Gou to shore and it looked like she was too tired from the training and the sudden loss of her adrenaline rush to do so.

Ako was running out of energy herself. When her feet touched sand she almost cried out in relief. The moment Gou was able to sit down, Ako promptly lost consciousness collapsing against the sand.

It was in that moment that Ayumu, a few feet away realized that Chigusa wasn’t breathing.

“No, no, no.” She pressed her ear to Chigusa’s chest and then got into position to give her CPR. “Hana-chan, come on.” She chanted as she did her chest compressions. On her fourth chest compression Chigusa’s eyes opened and she bent to the side, coughing out sea water.

Ayumu stared at her, unable to shake off the fear that she could have died. Her eyelids closed and she slumped back into the sand with a whispered “ _thank goodness_ ”.

“Ako? Ayu? Hana?” Gou looked around, frantically trying to come up with something she could do. Everyone was tired and needed rest, the boys were missing, but before they could even hope to look for the boys her friends needed to be taken someplace where they could be checked up on. She thought of the first person she could always count on to help her and went to her tent to make a call.

For the first time in three years, when she called her brother he answered.

“Gou?” He murmured groggily. “It’s storming out, what are you doing up in the middle of the night?” He asked and really she was beginning to notice how stupid her brother’s questions usually were.

“Onii-” Gou felt tears rolling down her face as the shock started fading and the distress rose out of her like a wave. “The boys are gone and-and the girls are all passed out. We tried to help, me and Chigusa, but we had to be helped too so now Ayu-chan had to give Chigusa CPR and Ako had to drag me to shore and they’re- Rin, you have to help us-”

“Calm down, Gou.” She heard fabric ruffling, it must be Rin getting out of bed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can so don’t move.” He said in a calm reassuring voice. “We’ll find the guys too.”

Gou wiped at her face and smiled a wobbly smile. “Thank you, Onii-chan.”

 

* * *

_\- Not a Deserted Island, Sports Facility -_

* * *

 

 

Matsuoka Rin was running faster than he’s ever run before and Nitori Aiichirou could barely catch up. As it was, he was already wheezing. “Senpai, what’s going on?” He asked, pulling his jacket’s hood over his head to protect himself from the rain.

“You’ll know when you see it.” Rin answered and then stopped once they reached the beach, there were four tents visible from where they were standing and a couple of meters away from it was Gou, urging Chigusa to wake up.

“That’s Tachibana-san and Nanase-san!” Ai said, pointing at Ako and Ayumu both passed out on the beach.

When both of them arrived, Gou let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll help you with Ayu-chan, Nitori-kun.” She said, slinging one arm under Ayumu who was slowly regaining consciousness.

Ayumu blinked up at them both blearily. “Ako?” She said in a hoarse whisper.

Before Gou or Ai could answer, Rin easily picked the younger Nanase up with a gentleness Gou felt like she’d never see again coming from him. Ako’s head lolled as she was jostled and it rested harmlessly against Rin’s collarbone.

“I’ve got her, Ayu.” He said softly. “Can you get her a towel?” He asked Chigusa, his face reddening slightly.

Chigusa looked at Ako and realized she was wearing a white shirt now rendered see through because of the water and now all that was visible was her dark blue sports underthings. She hurriedly went to Ako’s and Ayu’s tent and pulled out a fluffy white towel with tiny blue porpoises printed on it, draping it over Ako.

After wrapping Ayu in her own towel - a green one with sea turtles on it - and securing towels for Gou and Chigusa, all six of them set out to go to the sports facility.

Seijuro stood at the entrance of the facility with a medic next to him. “I got your text, Matsuoka. It was very unusual.” He said, his eyes widening when he saw who Rin had brought along. “Ako.” He gestured for the medic to lead them to the medical wing and held Rin by the arm as he passed by. “I’ve sent word about the disappearance of the Iwatobi Team, the lifeguards are out looking for them.”

Rin nodded and looked down at Ako sleeping in his arms. “Thank you, captain.”

Seijuro blinked in surprise. “I look forward to seeing which one of us can impress Ako more.” He winked and ushered them all to the medical wing.

Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I’m not going to lose, not even to you, Captain.”

-

Gou opened the door to the room that Samezuka managed to spare for the four of them only to find Ayu awake chatting with Chigusa and Ako making use of the large bath tub to soak in warm water.

“Hey, Gou.” Ayu greeted, inviting her to sit on one of the double beds with them. “Come on, we’re chatting about guys.” She snickered.

Chigusa’s face became red. “She’s teasing.”

“Hana met mine and Ako’s childhood nemesis, Ryo, in the hallway. He showed her here. And she’s smitten.” Ayu continued with no care for Chigusa’s protestations. The Tachibana twin kept grinning as Chigusa tried to cover her mouth with her hand.

Gou brightened as she plopped herself down between them. It was the perfect opportunity to do some digging of her own. Ayu herself was a believer in whatever it was between Ako and Rin, it would only take a bit of waiting to extract what she needed from the female twin.

As if sensing this, Ayu stopped teasing Chigusa to look at Gou and smirked. “You want to know something.” She winked.

Gou raised a brow at the older girl but didn’t deny it.

The sound of Ako leaving the toilet, clothed in an overly large shirt and shorts, was music to Gou’s ears. Ayu understood Gou’s intentions immediately and grinned. “Ako-chan.” Ayu said, turning over to face Ako. “I heard Rin carried you.” She said, pulling her down to the bed with them. “I heard he and Mikoshiba Seijuro fought over you.”

“Please, my life isn’t Homeric and I’m not Helen of Troy.” Ako raised a brow at them but the pinkish hue of her cheeks escaped no one’s notice. “So? Rin’s a nice guy. He might be distant now and dealing with things we don’t know but he’s always had good intentions.” She shrugged, toweling her hair.

Gou’s heart nearly broke at how much faith the girl still had in Rin but she wasn’t going to be stopped by her heartfelt sentence enders. “What did you mean that day at the mall?” She asked. “Why did Rin tell you never to speak to him again?”

The atmosphere in the room dropped by several degrees and Ayu’s gaze turned hard. When once her eyes would have asked Ako to take her time, her eyes now pushed her to spill everything.

“It was during middle school.” Ako sighed, looking pointedly at Ayu before smiling at Gou. “Right before Haru quit, Rin and he had a race. Rin lost and he started crying so I went after him.” Her shoulders shook in quiet laughter. “He told me never to speak to him again. And we haven’t since.”

“You didn’t tell me this.” Ayu said, frowning.

Ako rolled her eyes and tossed her towel over the back of a chair. “It’s in the past.” She said, waving it off.

Chigusa looked at everyone and raised a hand sheepishly. “Actually, I’m new here. How do you and Gou’s brother… know each other?” She asked.

Ayu snorted. “She’s only got the world’s biggest crush on him. She’s been head over heels since she saw him swimming when they were in elementary school.” She paused, waiting for some kind of protest from Ako that never came. “Not going to deny it, Ako?” She sniggered.

“You mean I idolized him.” She admitted. “It’s not rocket science. There’s a reason I chose to specialize in Freestyle _and_ Butterfly.” She grinned. “Rin’s an inspiring swimmer.”

“You thought he was cute.” Ayu smiled at the younger girl.

“He was adorable.” Gou nodded in agreement.

“Like I said, Rin’s always been a nice guy.” Ako laughed, settling herself under the sheets. “It’d be great if the boys could be friends again.” Ako’s look of glee turned to worry.

Ayu pat her shoulder. “They’ll find the boys. They’re tough.” She insisted. “In fact, I’m sure by tomorrow we’ll find Haru in the pool already.”

Ako smirked. “Not before I am, obviously.”

“That’s our girl.” They laughed and didn’t stop laughing until they all went to bed.

Unfortunately, what they didn’t realize was that they’d left the door open slightly, allowing a passing Nitori Aiichirou to hear everything they’d said.

The slate grey haired swimmer carefully closed the door to the sound of snoring and-

“Ai.”

Nitori jumped up, turning to face his upperclassman. “Rin-senpai.” He nearly screamed but remembered that the girls were sleeping. “The guests just left their door open by accident and didn’t notice.” He explained.

Rin seemed to stare at him skeptically. “We’ve got an early start tomorrow. We should sleep.” He said, motioning for Ai to come back to the room with him.

Nitori looked back at the door, remembering what he’d heard, before looking back at Rin.

“He might be distant now and dealing with things we don’t know but he’s always had good intentions.”

Nanase Ako had said it with complete confidence.

Nitori wondered what Rin had done to deserve such respect for his character besides being a good swimmer. Nevertheless, it gave him hope as he sprinted forward to walk back to their room with his enigmatic upperclassman.


	7. Episode 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally leaves the island but Ako's beginning to think they should have stayed there instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto sings Mirai E No Stroke.  
> Ayu sings Guilty Eyes Fever by Guilty Kiss.  
> Ako sings Fuyu Ga Kureta Yokan by Bibi.

**EPISODE 7**

_\- Not a Deserted Island -_

* * *

 

 

True enough, they woke up the very next day to Makoto yelling for Haru to at least warm up before he jumped into the pool. “Darn it, he got here before I did.” Ako cursed, peeling off her oversized shirt and jumping into the pool behind her brother. 

“Ako, wait-” Ayu sighed and picked up Ako’s shirt, her actions mimicking that of her twin. “She woke up a little late today.” She crossed her arms and turned to Makoto. “How are you guys?” She asked.

Makoto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “We ended up stranded on one of the islands but we stayed the night there and swam back when we could.” He explained. “Samezuka was really nice to let us stay with them.” He commented.

“Well, Ako and I passed out making sure Chigusa and Gou stayed alive.” Ayu grinned. “You know Captain Mikoshiba has a soft spot for Ako.”

Makoto laughed and Ayu realized she’d missed him while he was gone. He wanted to hear him laugh more because of it. “I’m grateful. We can swim in a pool.” He said, peeling his own shirt off.

Ayu remembered something then and smirked. There was another place in this sports complex that she’d wanted to explore and they weren’t leaving the island until they tried it out. “I saw a karaoke room when we were on our way here.” She wiggled her eyebrows at her brother.

“Oh.” Makoto froze. “Oh, Ayu. _No_.”

Ayu smirked. “Ayu, **_yes_**.”

-

“ _I let my heart bridge the distance to tomorrow!_ ” Makoto sang, stretching a hand out while his other hand cupped the microphone. “ _So I can envision a much freer, much freer passion._ ”

Ayu sniggered, settling between Gou and Ako. “I thought you didn’t want to do this, Mako!” she teased, nudging Ako so she could look at Haru who looked just about ready to explode with love for his best friend. “They need to get together already.” She groaned.

“I know right?” Ako agreed.

Rei and Nagisa set the song books in front of them. Nagisa already managed to belt out a strangled and botched version of some popular english song and Rei was holding off so it was down to the girls to sing next.

“Alright, losers.” Ayu flipped the song book open and looked up the numbers to one of her best karaoke songs. By the time she walked up to the machine, Mako had finished a stunning rendition of Mirai E No Stroke.

It was time to turn up the volume.

“ _Hey, look in my eyes… (Love this fever). It’s your fault that I’m in love (Guilty fever)._ ” The song starts up just as Ayu spots a flash of red hair passing outside the karaoke room’s windows and all of Ayu’s shipper dreams come true. She can be badass any time. Right now, Matsuoka Rin was outside the karaoke room and being helpfully chatted up by Captain Mikoshiba. She needs to get Ako on stage _right now_.

“Ako, hun. I change my mind, come up here and pick a song.” She said, stopping her song and dragging Ako up on stage. From the corner of her eye, she sees Seijuro turning and watching with amusement and slight interest. 

Ako squints at her and pushes in some numbers anyway. “What are you up to?” She asked, taking the microphone from Ayu’s hands.

“Don’t worry your little head, you can do it.” She pat the younger Nanase on the head and trotted down to the couches, careful to sit in a way that gave her a view of the Samezuka boys now staring avidly at the short girl on stage. Ayu reached up and turned the lights out so that Ako wouldn’t see them. “Go, Ako!” She shouted, her shouts joined by Nagisa and Gou’s helpful screaming.

Ako breathed in and started singing.

“ _I hear footsteps, and I hope that all those sounds belong to you even though I know in my heart that it can’t be true._ ” She sang softly but with a heavy message. Her eyes were fixed down at the microphone as if looking up would only make her want to cry. “ _And my heartache grows everyday, wishing just to walk beside you. Sometimes I plea, hoping maybe you’ll return my feelings too._ ”

Wow, Ayu planned for this. This was perfect. But, this was almost too perfect for words. A peek at the Samezuka boys already confirmed just how great of a song choice this was. Rin was biting his lip, not knowing what to do with himself. Too hurt to stay, too entranced to leave.

Makoto’s voice was strong and husky in a way that made people want to stand up and run ten laps, but Ako’s voice was the opposite. It was thoughtful and deliberate and you had to sit down so you could process all the emotion she was trying to show.

“ _I think maybe falling in love with you has made me a little bit…_ ” Ako reached up and rubbed at her eyes. “ _More cowardly._ ” She muttered to herself something that sounded like ‘ _oh geez_ ’. Thankfully the song ended before Ako could actually start crying and Ayu flicked the lights back on.

“So nice of you to drop in, Captain Mikoshiba.” She greeted as the Samezuka Captain shoved his way in bringing his own cavalry of swimmers with him, his arm was around a protesting Matsuoka Rin.

“Ako-chan! That was beautiful!” He complimented, ruffling Ako’s hair with large hands.

Ayu could have sworn she heard muffled growling.

“Thanks, you’re too kind, Captain Seijuro. But, I feel a bit tired from all the… swimming.” Ako excused herself, getting off the stage and heading quickly towards the door.

It was a blatant lie of course. Ako trained harder on most days and she wasn’t that tired after. “Why don’t you walk her to the room, Rin?” She asked subtly and Captain Mikoshiba seemed to agree.

“It’s dangerous to go alone in a place like this.” He nodded. “I’ll even escort you if you prefer-”

Rin pried himself out of Captain Mikoshiba’s grip and hesitated before offering his arm out to Ako. “Ready to go?” He asked, a bit of red on his face.

Ako looked at his arm and snorted. “Such manners.”

“Shut up.” Rin retorted but he smiled down at Ako anyway.

Ako placed her hand on his arm and they both walked out through the halls. The noise lessened as they both started breathing easier. “Ayu’s still too much for me. You’d think I’d be used to her.” She shrugged.

“No one gets used to Ayu. You can only deal with Ayu.” Rin joked.

Ako shook her head and laughed, looking up at Rin as she did. “Why aren’t you like this… to everyone?” She asked.

Rin raised a brow at her. “Hah?”

Ako had to bite back the urge to laugh again. “You.” She pointed at him with her free hand. “You’re a nice guy, really. Why aren’t you like this to everyone else? Why do we have to be alone before you-” She stopped, trying to find the right words. “Start acting like yourself?”

“Listen, Ako, when I was in Australia-” He bit his lip and looked around like he’d rethought what he was going to say and decided maybe he shouldn’t be saying it in public. “Things didn’t go as well as I wanted them to.” He admitted quietly.

“Alright.” Ako nodded. “But, what does that have to do with anything?” She asked.

Rin looked down at Ako, staring up at him wanting to know what happened, and stopped. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, burden her with this. Not when he’s burdened her with almost everything, his ignorance, his pushiness, his insistence, the entire time when they were kids. Ako didn’t need to know the boy she’d chased after in the swim club pool and dreamed dreams of swimming in the olympics with might never be good enough to swim against her.

He’d rather die than face her disappointment.

“It’s nothing, Ako. Forget it.” He gestured to the door to their right. “We’re here.”

Ako blinked at the door like the thing had appeared in front of her by magic. “Thanks for walking me here and… for the chat. I missed talking to you.” She gasped lightly. “But, I probably shouldn’t be doing that, huh? I did promise.” She said.

“I missed talking to you too, Ako.” Rin said, stopping her. “I was being dumb. I was disappointed. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I hope you know that I’m sorry for that.” He apologized.

Ako had a hard time trying not to cry again. “Apology accepted, Rin.” She smiled. “Have a good night.” She waved, opening the door to her room.

“You too.” Rin waved back and turned around to leave.

And if there was a wide smile on his face as he went to his own room then no one needed to know that.

-

As usual, Tachibana Ayu found Ako swimming in the ocean the morning of prefecturals the week after.

“It’s a big day today.” She said as Ako threw her duffle bag over her shoulder and they began to walk to the train. “Are you ready?” She asked.

Ako pulled out her phone and frowned down at the message that had been left there.

> _It ends today._

It was an unknown number but she knew who it was. Only Matsuoka Rin could be so vague.

She shook off the ominous air and turned back to face Ayu. “Let’s go, Ayu.” She said, pocketing her phone and walking to the station. No matter who won, Ako had a feeling no one would feel any better.

 

* * *

\- _Prefecturals Day 1: Individual_ -

* * *

 

 

“Here’s the program for the first day.” Gou ran her finger down the clipboard. “We’re starting with the girls’ free so it’ll be Ako-chan’s 100 and 200 meter freestyle.” She said, pointing to Ako.

Ako grinned and saluted. “I’ll make sure to start strong.” She reassured.

“Ayu-chan’s 100 and 200 meter backstroke is after that. Then, Chigusa’s 100 meter breaststroke. Will you have enough time to rest for all your heats, Ayu-chan?” Gou asked, a little blown away by how close together her heats are.

“I’ve got it covered, Gou-chan.” She winked at the younger Matsuoka. “It'll be your turn after me.”

Gou nodded. “And Ako-chan’s 200 meter Butterfly will end the women’s prelims.” She said, flipping to the next page for the boys’ events. “They're starting with men's freestyle after. Haruka-senpai is in the fourth heat.” She frowned and Ayu took a peek at the paper.

“Haru and Rin are in neighboring lanes.” She muttered. “It's a slow time for Rin.” She said to Ako.

“He must have slowed down in purpose so he could be in the same heat." Ako surmised, trying hard not to take too much notice of Haru’s dark mood. “This race isn't going to solve whatever is happening between them.”

“We know that but they don't. They're boys.” Ayu shrugged.

Ako sighed. “Boys are dumb."

“Eight fastest times in all the heats go to the final and qualify for regionals.” Ayu said, smirking. “Think we can kick Oga South’s ass this time?” She asked.

Ako cringed remembering the epic rivalry they used to have especially when a certain girl bully named Maehara moved to Oga South and started swimming against them. “I'm ready when you are, Ayu.”

The announcers called all swimmers for the women’s 100 meter freestyle to the assembly.

“That's my cue.” Ako said, standing up. She passed by her brother and ruffled his hair. “Will you cheer for me, Onii-chan?” She smiled.

Haru gave in, giving his sister a small smile in return. “Count on it, imouto.”

With that, it was time for Ako’s first heat. She placed with one of the faster times so she was in the first heat in Lane 5. The pool had eight lanes so the fifth being one of the middle lanes gave Ako a significant advantage.

She took her place on the starting block next to swimmers from elite schools and breathed. The water seemed to come to her as the whistle was blown and she dove into the blue.

“Swim! (Swim!) Swim! (Swim!)”

The shouting grew louder as Iwatobi was overpowered by the noise of Samezuka Academy’s swim team chanting for Ako.

“Ike, Ako-chan!” Captain Mikoshiba screamed, joined shortly by Ai and more quietly by Rin.

Haru stared at Rin, waving a red megaphone in the air as if he was trying to push Ako forward faster by yelling.

“He's still Rin after all this time.” Makoto smiled, reading Haru’s mind yet again. “His feelings for Ako haven't changed, huh?”

Haru averted his gaze, finding Ako reaching the turn. “Last spurt.” He said, breathing in to join the chanting.

Ako’s breathing wasn't as steady as she wanted. Her speed was fluctuating. But she couldn't let herself stop or slow down. The swimmer from Lane 4 would catch up in a heartbeat if she let her. So, Ako sucked it in and pushed until her hand finally reached the wall and she surfaced gasping.

She pulled off the swim cap and her goggles and looked up at the tally.

> 1  Nanase Akio   Iwatobi High School

Ako pulled herself out of the pool and started jumping up and down, aiming a thumbs up to the rest of the swim club sitting in the bleachers. “We did it!” She yelled.

“Well done! Great job! Na-na-se!” The Samezuka crew cheered.

Ako laughed and waved at them. “Thank you!” She ran to the lockers to grab her stuff. By the time she made it back to the team it was time for the 5th Heat.

“Congrats, Ako!” Ayu pulled the girl into a hug before passing her off to Nagisa. “You were super fast, Ako-chan!” Nagisa said excitedly, placing a quick happy kiss on her cheek.

“Nagisa!” Ako giggled, turning and finding Rei standing there with sparkling eyes. “Rei?”

“You swam beautifully, Ako!” He said, shaking her hand enthusiastically.

Ako smiled. “You'll be just as beautiful out there, I'm sure!” She encouraged.

“I'll do my best to live up to your praise.” Rei nodded seriously. “At this rate, there's no way you're losing your 200 meter freestyle. You were in another league out there.”

“You guys are too nice.” Ako blushed heavily.

“Oga South might have been right behind you but she wouldn't have caught up. She was too tired out from chasing you.” Chigusa grinned. “You've got your next one in the bag.”

All the praise must have had an effect in Ako’s brain because when she dove into the water for her next heat she knew she was going to win.

“ ** _Nanase Akio from the second heat in 200 meter freestyle has set a tournament record._** ” The announcement went over her head. Ako hurried back to the stands.

“Is it-” she stood up, leaning over the railings. “Ayu-chan! Do your best!” She screamed.

Ayu was lined up with several other swimmers. She raised a hand and waved at Ako. Their heats had overlapped and Ako was afraid she wouldn't make it in time. “I'll show these boys how it's done, Ako!”

Samezuka stood up again to cheer. It seemed like they've adopted Iwatobi’s girls into their fold since they all trained together on the island.

When Ayu dove into the water both Iwatobi and Samezuka cheered for her.

Ayu proved faster than all of her competitors, finishing five seconds ahead of the girl in second place for her 100 meter race and six seconds for her 200 meter race. She'd set tournament records for both.

“You're both crazy fast.” Chigusa raised a brow at Ayu’s time. “You're monsters.”

Ako smiled. “You can do it, Hana-chan. We believe in you.” She said, patting Chigusa on the back.

“I'll do what I can.” Chigusa said nervously, accepting a short hug from the younger Nanase.

Chigusa placed third in her heat, beating her best time. She asks Ayu to avenge her and Ayu makes it through to regionals by a hairsbreadth.

“The difference between my time and Kaede’s was a hundredth of a second! Can you believe that? Kaede used to be such a small girl and we used to kick her ass easily.” Ayu said, plopping down next to Ako. She stared out aimlessly into the air. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Ako sighed. “It's been a while since I raced Butterfly at a tournament.” She said.

“You used to snap your goggles and pretend to be Rin.” Ayu snickered, her eyes going to Rin who was squeezed uncomfortably between Ai and Seijuro.

The younger Nanase smiled. “Nothing’s changed about any of us. I still swim Butterfly to be closer to Rin.” She smirked and stood up to watch Gou take her place. She was in one of the last heats having qualified with an average time. “I'm pretty sure, Rin’s still swimming to be with his friends… even if he's forgotten it.”

Ayu smiled and wrapped an arm around Ako so she could ruffle the younger girl’s hair. “You're up after?” She asked.

“Yep, first heat.” Ako vibrated with excitement. “Let's bring our team to Regionals.” She held out a fist to Ayu.

Ayu bumped her fist to Ako’s. “You and me, Ako-chan.”

After watching his sister swim Butterfly and  place third in her heat, Rin thought he'd seen it all. But then, Ako lined up for the first heat of 200 meter Butterfly.

“It must be nostalgic, Matsuoka-senpai.” Ai smiled brightly. “Seeing Ako-San swimming your stroke must bring back lots of memories for you.” He repeated, not minding Rin’s reticence.

“Not really.” Rin answered, biting his lip when Ako reached up to snap her goggles like Rin used to when they were kids.

Rin half expected her to place last. Ako’s strong suit was free. She was a lot like Haru like that. But she'd proven him wrong by placing first in her heat.

I'm not Haru, she said with each stroke. I'm not Haru, in her turns. I'm not my brother, said her kicks as her hand hit the wall and she _finished first she was going to regionals._

Rin stood up and got ready to head down. It didn't matter right now. No one else mattered but him and Haru and their race.

“It ends here.”

-

“I’m here as promised.” Haru stopped, looking at the red head sitting on a bench ahead of him.

Rin smirked, standing up slowly. “I kept my qualifying time low so I’d be in the same heat as you.” He said, confirming what Ako suspected he’d done. Still, Haru frowned.

“No need for that. We’d still meet in the final.” He said firmly.

Rin gave him a look that screamed he didn’t believe it. “I can’t wait that long.” Putting on his goggles, his hands shook. He hasn’t snapped his goggles like this in years but seeing Ako do it brought back memories. “There’s no guarantee that you’d make it to the final.” He felt better when the rubber snapped and fit itself snugly against his head. He felt confident.

“No one else matters. This is between you and me.” He said, striding past Haru. “I’m looking forward to it.” He smirked with jagged shark teeth and reached the assembly.

Up on the stands, Ako looked down at him sadly.

Rin frowned and looked away. No one else matters, he meant that. No one else should. When this is over he’ll leave. He’s gotten closure about not being able to beat Haru. He’s apologized to Ako. He’s seen Makoto, Nagisa, and Ayu.

He just needed his victory.

 _Is that really what you need?_ A voice asked from the back of his mind and Rin shook his head, spotting Haru lining up behind him. Of course. He needs nothing else but the win.

Rin took his place on the starting block alongside Haru and waited.

The whistle loudly rang across the tournament building as both Rin and Haru careened forward diving into liquid. They both started paddling, immediately separating them from the pack giving neither team any time to cheer.

“They’re fast!” Rei exclaimed. He’d seen just how fast people could swim during Ako’s and Ayu’s runs but watching Haru and Rin was different. They had a feverish need to beat the other and it pushed them to even faster speeds.

Nagisa peered over the railings worriedly. “Rin-chan’s gotten a lot faster. He’s pulling ahead of Haru-chan.” He said.

And indeed, Rin was slowly gaining the lead.

“It’s because Haru stopped.” Ako said quietly. “Ayu and I never stopped like Haru did and he’s not in great shape because of it.” She frowned. Why would Rin want a match against Haru when he was just as aware how out of shape Haru was?

By the turn, Rin was feet ahead of Haru.

“Haru-chan’s catching up!” Nagisa yelled as Haru got faster, chasing frantically after Rin.

Makoto took a deep breath and screamed. “Haru!”

Taking the hint everyone started shouting. Gou and Chigusa chanted for Haru to keep going, Ayu, Nagisa, and Rei yelled for Haru to swim faster. Makoto and Ako just shouted for Haru.

Haru’s last push was strong and he reached the wall at almost the same time as Rin. He and Rin surfaced panting, staring up fervently at the scoreboard.

What they’d seen made Ako let out a sad murmur.

> 1  Matsuoka Rin   Samezuka Academy
> 
> 2  Nanase Haruka   Iwatobi High School

“Haru lost.” She muttered.


	8. Episode 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin is an ass, but at least he's a predictable ass.

**EPISODE 8**

_\- Prefecturals Day 1: Singles -_

* * *

 

 

Haru stood shock still as Rin started celebrating, Samezuka shouting supportively for his good performance and his qualifying for regionals. After thrashing around the pool for a while, Rin got out of the pool and turned to say something to Haru.

Ako didn’t hear it but the look on Haru’s face was enough to know it was something heartbreaking. 

“Never.” She mouthed along with him. Stepping away from the railing she sprinted down the bleachers with Ayu hot on her tail.

“Ako, where are you going?” She yelled.

Behind her, more footsteps joined, but Ako didn’t look back. She kept going, her feet taking her down the path that would lead her to the lockers. She’d run so fast that she must have taken a different turn than expected and got separated from everyone else. Her path was blocked by a tall redhead with a familiar towel that read Shark.

“Rin.” She said in a hushed voice between gritted teeth.

Rin looked up and leveled an uncharacteristically kind smile at her. “Ako, congrats on making it to regionals.” He said softly.

Ako blinked and wondered idly if Rin suffered from bipolarism. “Have you seen my brother?” She asked.

Rin’s face notably soured. “He won’t show his face to his own sister from shame?” He grimaced.

“Haru isn’t like that. Losing wouldn’t bring him so low. Not like _you_.” She hissed, almost regretting what she’d said. But, she stood her ground even as Rin came closer and snarled at her. “I thought you- I thought we-”

“You thought wrong.” Rin spat, flicking Ako on the forehead to ignore the sting her words left on his heart.

Ako stumbled back straight into Ayu’s arms. “What is your problem, Matsuoka?” Ayu sneered like a mother bear protecting her cub. The Iwatobi team surrounded her, ready to protect them.

“Haru’s the one reacting so badly to losing.” Rin answered. “He’s the one who said he didn’t care about times.” He waved a hand in the air, hoping it would discourage them from talking to him.

“He’s not upset about losing.” Rei concluded. “There must be something else.”

Rin raised a brow at him. “What matters in swimming beyond winning?” He asked.

“If you don’t know how to answer that then you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought.” Ayu snarked, edging Ako behind her so she could recover from their unfortunate encounter.

Makoto stepped in front of his sister, his face solemn. “There’s more. Haru thought there was something more. That’s why he wanted to race _you_.” He tried to explain. “And I’m pretty sure it was you… Rin… that showed him what that was.”

Rin’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.

“When we swam that relay in grade school, you-” Makoto continued.

“What do I care?” Rin shouted, cutting him off. “I beat Haru! Nothing else matters.” He insisted before pushing past them and striding away, leaving the Iwatobi crew to stare after him.

Chigusa spoke first. “Wow, your brother is a piece of work, Gou-chan.” She said blandly.

“Something tells me there’s more to this story than you four being in a relay together like Ako told me.” Rei piped up.

Nagisa smiled at Rei. “Don’t worry about that, Rei-chan. We have to find Haru-chan right now.” He said, placing a hand on Rei’s shoulder. Rei visibly deflated at that clearly wanting to know exactly what the history was between Rin and the rest.

Ako came around and put a hand on both of their arms. “Ayu and I will look for him. You guys have your events up soon. We’ll make sure he’s there.” She said, nodding to Ayu. “Let’s go, Ayu-chan.” She and Ayu walk down the corridor, calling for Haru.

“Leave them.” Makoto said when it looked like Nagisa was going to protest. “She needs a break as much as Haru does. But, she’ll get Haru back in time.” He said, ushering everyone back to the bleachers.

Makoto trusted Ako and Ayu more than a lot of people. If anyone could get Haru back it was them. It’s with that confidence that he got ready for his own heat.

-

 _Back then,_ Haru thought. _If Rin had won… would I feel any different?_ Haru asked himself. He hasn’t thought too deeply on the incident since he quit swimming even if the event itself changed a lot about his life. Rin swims to be in the olympics but why does Haru swim? 

“Onii-chan!”

Haru heard footsteps approach and was immediately taken in by his memories.

“ _Nii!_ ” a shout came from a small white bundle. His little sister was placed in his arms and he knew then that he might hate the world but never her. Never his little sister. Ever since blue eyes met, the Nanase siblings would always have each other. She’s had him since she’d uttered her first word.

Haru opened his eyes, Ako was standing in front of him. He hates everything right now but not her. “Ako.” He said softly.

“We need to go, Haru.” She said, frowning as she started toweling his dripping wet hair. “Mako’s race is up next.” She added with a firmness Haru was all too familiar with.

And when Ayu came up behind her he knew there was no escaping Ako. “Alright.”

None of the boys qualified for regionals but the look on Haru’s face as he watched them brimming with pride only convinced Ako that it was the right decision.

“Imouto.” He muttered.

Ako blinked up at her brother quizzically. “Yeah?” She tilted her head at him.

Haru turned to look at her, his face blank. “Let’s get ice cream.”

Ako thought about it and smiled, remembering that day when everything changed. “Great idea, Onii-chan.” She grinned. “Where do you want to go?” She asked.

She really shouldn’t have asked. Of course Haru would want to go to the pool at this time of night. Sometimes, Ako wondered if Haru and every boy she knew just liked to use swimming as a way to escape puberty.

“Why do you swim?” Haru asked suddenly, floating next to her.

Ako was perched on the edge of the pool which was odd for her. If she’d seen a pool she usually was just as eager as Haru to get in and swim. But, swimming has been causing enough problems for them that she and the pool weren’t on great terms right now.

Nevertheless, she plunged her legs in the cool water. “I swim because I love swimming. If I could, I’d swim for life.” She answered plainly, looking down at Haru who stood up in the water staring at her. “How about you, Haru? You’ve loved the water all your life. Longer than me. You taught me to love the water.” She tilted her head at him, a habit she’s formed since childhood. “Why are you questioning yourself?” She asked.

“Makoto swims for his friends. Rin swims to go to the olympics, for his dreams.” He said, looking up at the stars.

Ako laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with swimming just to swim, Haru.” She said.

Haru looked at her, confused.

“Just because the reasoning is simple doesn’t make it less valid.” Ako answered, blunt and to the point. Ako seemed naive sometimes because of her tendency to simple reasoning but in reality she’d always seen clearly even when Haru couldn’t navigate through the fog.

Haru smiled and reached up to ruffle his little sister’s hair. “Let’s go home before you catch a cold.”

Ako snorted and splashed him. “Speak for yourself, Onii-chan!” She exclaimed.

-

Tachibana Makoto is an angel.

To be fair, he’s always been an angel, but this takes the proverbial cake. When the Nanase siblings got home it was to Makoto sleeping with his side against the wall. It looked like he’d fallen asleep while he was putting his shoes back on. Tiredness from swimming all day aside, Makoto couldn’t possibly have been tired enough to fall asleep that way so he must at least be a bit aware.

The younger Nanase spotted the phone in Makoto’s hands and realised.

Ako grinned and pat Haru’s shoulder. “You wake him up.” She said, poking her head in the other rooms. Ayu wasn’t there. She must have gone home to check on the twins. By the time she came back to the entrance Haru managed to wake up Makoto.

“We have a relay to swim, right?” Haru asked.

 

* * *

\- _Prefecturals Day 2: Relay_ -

* * *

 

 

Rin sat on the bench, bored out of his mind. Initially, he planned on going to see the girls’ relay for his sister if anything but he decided not to. He didn’t want to see Ako. If he did, he might cave again and give into weakness. He already decided on focusing on the winning. Still, it didn’t make the decision any easier. He stayed away and Nitori told him where they placed.

They took second place in their heat but didn’t qualify. It wasn’t all that surprising, they were a new team.

Nitori’s voice broke through his brooding and he bit back a scowl.

“Matsuoka-senpai!” Nitori shouted, skidding to a stop behind him. “Come with me, quick!” He said. He sincerely hoped Ako wasn’t lying to him when they met up earlier because if she was then he’d really be in trouble.

Rin sighed in annoyance. “What is it? It’s not time for the Samezuka relay yet.” He grumbled.

Bingo! Ako told him he’d say that. Then, she must also be right about him caring about the relay. “Nanase’s club is swimming a relay!” He shouted.

Rin turned around and raised a brow at him. “I know. You told me that. Ako’s relay is over.”

Nitori almost cursed. “Nanase Haruka’s team, the guys, they’re doing a relay.” He explained again but before he could finish speaking Rin was already sprinting to the pool. “W-wait for me, Matsuoka-senpai!”

Nanase Ako peered down and smirked as Matsuoka Rin came fumbling out to watch her brother’s relay. “So predictable.” She clicked her tongue.

“To you, he is.” Ayu ruffled her hair and watched, amused. “Good job, Ako.” She said, raising a fist to her.

 

Ako bumped her fist to Ayu’s. “That should give him something to think about.”

 

The boys’ team made it through to regionals. It was icing on the proverbial cake compared to Rin suddenly deciding to join Samezuka’s relay team.


	9. Episode 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the Hachiman Festival *eyebrow wiggle* and Sei makes a move.

**EPISODE 9**

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

“Despite being a brand new club, our swimming team placed in the Top Eight at prefecturals and have qualified for regionals.” The teacher announced, looking down at the slip he’d been given. “For individual races, Tachibana Ayumu and Nanase Akio placed first in prefecturals. We hope they will be able to advance to nationals. That’s all.”

The swim team were standing outside of the school that morning, staring up at the banner now hanging from the side of the building.

> _Congratulations to the Swim Team for making Regionals!_

“They did a lot for us!” Nagisa cheered and Ayu grimaced at his chirpy tone.

“They reused an old sign.” She pointed out.

Rei bit back a laugh. “But, it’s really starting to feel like we’re winners.” He commented with a smile. He and Nagisa set off with Ako between them, talking about how popular they’ll be when they get to class while Gou and Chigusa head to their own classroom talking about how everyone in the club besides Chigusa had names that were all on theme.

“We won…” Haru said softly.

Both Tachibanas turned to look at him but the older Nanase had already begun to walk to their classroom. “Wait up, Haru!” Ayu said, sprinting to catch up to him. Makoto hung back to watch them and smiled.

-

“Let’s start warming up-” Gou said, the five of them climbing the stairs up to the pool area. Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Chigusa, and Makoto’s jaws all dropped.

Haru and Ako were at the turn and while Haru was faster, Ako gained a considerable lead from her kick. Ayu stood to the side with her phone on timer, tapping the stop button when they both reached the wall and surfaced. “At least you’re both consistently hitting your fastest time at prefecturals now. That’s almost five seconds faster than your time at joint practice.” She smiled and turned to the group that just arrived. “You guys are kinda late, huh?” She smirked.

Gou sped forward and offered towels to the Nanase siblings who’d just pulled themselves out of the pool. “Thanks.” Haru muttered, Ako said the same thing but added an endearing _‘Gou-chan!’_ to the end.

“They’re both very motivated.” Nagisa commented.

“Maybe it’s because Haruka-senpai lost the freestyle competition.” Rei suggested.

Makoto stared at the Nanase siblings and while the prospect of competition might have spurred Ako forward, it was clear that it wasn’t what was driving Haru.

“I’m surprised that he’s so driven.” Gou said quietly to Ako.

Ako smiled and shook her head. “Haru just doesn’t know what to do. Swimming helps him think.” She explained. “But, enough of that, we should start our club activities.”

“Right! We need to warm up!” Gou nodded, taking everyone to the side to stretch while Ayu got in the pool to do some laps of her own.

Ako pat Makoto on the back and nudged her head in Haru’s direction. “Watch over him.” She smiled before getting back in the water herself.

Makoto watched Haru as he looked down at the water and wondered if maybe he should escape into the blue too. Maybe it’d answer _his_ questions.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

> _Congratulations on your win. - Ako_

Rin felt a bit like throwing his phone at a wall. But, despite promising to himself that he’d get rid of anything that distracted him from winning, he sat on the bench in the locker rooms after a day of swim practice and stared at the text.

“You’re swimming well, Matsuoka-senpai!” Nitori cut through the haze of Rin’s thoughts yet again. He’s becoming a master at detecting when his thoughts became dark.

Turning off his phone, he rooted around in his locker. “I guess so.” He answered, hoping his mediocre response would shut Nitori up.

It didn’t, but he tried.

“You swam a personal record during the group stage. So, it looks like your decision to focus on the 100 meter free paid off.” He kept talking, babbling really. And really, it wasn’t necessary. Rin was there, he remembers what he accomplished. He didn’t need Nitori to rehash it. “I wasn’t able to make it to the finals.” Nitori added, looking down at the ground.

Rin put on his jacket and looked over at the younger boy. “Yeah, too bad.”

“But, you please do your best! You have my full support!” He cheered, realizing belatedly that Rin wasn’t in the mood when Rin sat back down sighing. “Matsuoka-senpai? Is something wrong?” He asked, slinging his towel around his neck and following his upperclassman. “You were so happy about beating Nanase.”

Rin was going to ask what Ako had to do with anything but quickly realized Nitori meant Haru. “Yeah.” He agreed.

“Then you can move on now!” Nitori chimed happily.

Rin blinked, not knowing what to say. He should be happy. He should move on. He frowned. Why hasn’t he moved on?

The door swings open and reveals Captain Mikoshiba dressed in casual clothes along with the rest of the team. “Hey, hurry up. We’re leaving.” He said, a hand in his pocket making it look like he had all the time in the world.

“Huh? Where are we going?” Nitori asked and Rin nearly facepalmed at his cluelessness.

“Weren’t you listening.” Seijuro shook his head. “We’re off to pray for victory.”

Nitori’s eyes lit up. “Oh right! Today’s the-”

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Nanase House_ -

* * *

 

 

“Hachiman’s Festival?” Haru asked, staring awkwardly at Nagisa and Makoto dressed in traditional clothes in seafoam green and dark green respectively. Ayu, dressed in a violet and white chequered yukata started shoving Ako up the stairs to her room.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet? Don’t you have a date today?” She asked with a grin.

Haru looked up at his sister incredulously. “Date?” He looked around and caught similar expressions on Nagisa’s and Makoto’s faces. It looked like everyone was just as scandalized by the prospect of Ako dating anyone.

Haru at least hoped it was someone they knew.

“I just told Captain Mikoshiba that I might be there and that I’d get food with him if I was! It’s not a date!” Ako protested.

Scratch that, Haru hoped it was one specific person. With red hair. Red eyes. Shark teeth. And an abrasive personality.

“Date or no date, we’re going to go and have fun. So, get dressed!” Ayu said, shouting in victory when she finally managed to get Ako into her room to change.

When Ako comes back down it’s with multiple flower and ribbon barettes in her hair and wearing a black yukata with red, pink, and white flowers. The color scheme reminds Haru a bit of Rin.

Rei seems to agree because when he sees Ako he does a double take and frowns.

“Have you been here long, Rei-chan?” Nagisa asked.

Rei shakes off his curiosity to answer him. “No, I just got here.”

Ako’s eyes sparkle as she reaches up to hug Rei and then give him a thumbs up. “Great answer, Rei-chan!” She smiled brightly. It’s been too long since she and Rei hung out and she missed her best friend.

“Mako, Haru…” Nagisa said, looping an arm with Ako’s in agreement. “If you ever arrive early for a date, that’s what you’re supposed to say.” He advises.

Makoto laughs good-naturedly. “Yeah, yeah. Lets visit the shrine first.”

Ako lags behind as they walk and she spots her favorite attraction. “Haru! Squid Catching Heaven!” She shouted, running towards the booth set up with several men standing in clear water trying to catch squid. Ako peels off her socks and hands them over to Ayu before getting in. “Ayu-chan, hold my stuff, please!”

“Ako! What are you-” She starts trying to remove her socks so she can pull Ako out but the girl has already caught three large squid gaining the approval of many from the audience. “Seriously.”

“Sure looks fun!” Nagisa said, cheering when Ako catches her fourth squid. “You can still join, Rei-chan!” He says, looking up at the ex-track member.

Rei averts his gaze immediately. “Not happening.”

“What about you, Mako?” Nagisa asks.

Makoto is quick to decline with an apologetic smile and Nagisa pouts. The only person who was any fun these days was Ako and even her mood was usually dampened whenever Rin was brought up.

“Hey, you guys are here-” Gou called out from behind them, her eyes widening when she caught sight of Ako. “Is that Ako-chan?” She shouted incredulously.

At this point, Ako has caught her tenth squid and was waving it in the air in honor of her _“amazing onii-chan, Haru!”_ while Haru watched with barely disguised glee.

“Well, she’s having a great time and killing it, as usual.” Chigusa giggled. “We’re entering the squid ink calligraphy contest in case you guys want to watch.” She informed.

Ako has to stay back to claim her prize, a giant squid stuffed toy, and by the time the contest wraps up it’s just her and Ayu walking away with a giant stuffed squid almost as tall as Ako herself.

“It was an impressive win, Ako!”

Ako spun around with her cute pink and red squid and smiled up at Seijuro. “Captain! I think I owe you food, then?” She tilted her head cutely and Seijuro looked like he was going to explode with glee.

“Nonsense, if anything, _I_ owe _you_ food!”

Ayu smiled as Seijuro started asking Ako about her favorite things to do at the festival. Her phone vibrated in her pouch and she took it out to read the message.

> _Rin is here. Rei is following him. We’ll update you. -_ _Nagisa_

Ayu shook her head and returned the phone to the pouch. Did they think she wanted Rin not to see Ako? As she watched Ako and Seijuro wander off to try some squid-themed food, she silently hoped Rin would catch them together and start caring about whether or not he’d lost his chance with Ako.

Ayu catches up to the guys while they’re picking up balloons with a fish hook.

Haru’s got a whole bunch, a talent he’d honed when they were young and he’d get as many as he could for Ako. Two young boys sat next to him in awe.

“So many…” Haru nearly jumped up. Ako used to say that a lot when they were kids. But, when he turned, it was only a pair of little boys. He smiled sadly down at the balloons. There would be less opportunities for Haru to win things for his little sister now and less reason to now that she was _dating_.

He handed the balloons off to the kids. “You can take them if you want.”

The two boys’ faces lit up. “Really?” They asked.

Haru watched the pair of them running off to show the balloons off to their friends. Ayu sat down next to him, smiling. “Kind of makes you wish Ako hadn’t grown up so fast, huh?” She grinned.

Haru returned his gaze to the floating balloons. They reached the candied apples when Nagisa received his hundredth message and Haru decided he’d had enough. “What are you up to?” Haru asked finally. “Rin’s here, then?”

Nagisa pouted, caught red-handed. Haru almost felt bad for bringing it up.

“Tell Rei to come back.” He said blandly.

As Nagisa left to get Rei, he turned and looked up to the top of the stairs. It was time he came to a decision about the relay.

“I want to swim.” He muttered.

“Haru?” Ayu asked. “Are you okay?”

Haru shook his head and looked at her. “Can you take Ako home, I have to talk to them.”

Ayu looked confused but nodded anyway.

She will never understand Haru like Ako did, but she’d back him up whatever he chose to do.

And right now, he needed her to find Ako.

-

Ako bit her lip.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t having a good time with Seijuro. He was good to her. If she was going to go on a first date, she’d be glad to go out with Sei. But, it wasn’t fair to him. She wasn’t completely invested in it. They had fun trying out all sorts of games.

But, Ako’s always had dreams of the Olympics and of standing on top of a stage with medals around her neck and in the crowd another pair of boys with medals cheering for her. She’d imagined her future and next to a dark haired boy, her male counterpart in every way, was a boy with red hair and shark teeth.

“You probably know that I’ve known Rin since we were small.” She said as she and Seijuro walked past more squid-themed stalls.

Seijuro, glad that she was offering up information about herself even if it was about Rin, listened avidly. “When your brother and he were in a relay together.”

Ako smiled. That felt like a lifetime ago. “The truth is, Seijuro-kun, I was in love with him back then. Maybe even now. I might never stop hoping he’ll finally turn around, let his gaze leave Haru and look at me.” She admitted. “I tried so hard to get him to look. I swam so hard and so fast. I learned strokes I never would have learned. Pushed harder than I ever would have pushed. Loved swimming more than anything. But still, after all these years all he looks at is Haru.” She finally looked at Seijuro, eyes watery but smiling all the same.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to say it so you’d know.” She said, digging into her pouch for a tissue. “It’s… I’m not being fair to you.”

Seijuro reached down and cupped Ako’s face with a gentle hand, dabbing at her cheeks with a handkerchief he’d pulled out from his pocket. “A man should always bring one of these in case a girl cries.” He grinned. “Thank you for telling me all of that. But, I’m not like Matsuoka. You don’t have to shout at me to have my attention. You deserve all the attention in the world and more. I’ll give you everything I’ve got if you’ll let me.” He said, closing Ako’s fist around the handkerchief.

“But, if Matsuoka has your heart, I’ll have to win it from him fair and square, right?” Seijuro winked.

Ako stared at him and burst out laughing, ignoring the looks the rest of the Samezuka team were sending them. She hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived at the train. “Give it your best shot, Sei.” She grinned up at him.

Matsuoka Rin, with impeccable timing as usual, skidded to a stop in front of Seijuro. He was doubled over, panting like he’d run a marathon. Knowing Rin, he probably had.

Ako’s heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest.

“Matsuoka, what are you doing?” Seijuro asked.

“The train’s about to leave.” Nitori informed helpfully.

Ako looked at the time. He was right. She must have babbled too long. She should go. But, before she could say goodbye, Rin caught sight of her.

He almost didn’t recognize her wearing the yukata but there was no mistaking those blue Nanase eyes. “Ako?” He caught on to the redness in her eyes and aimed an angry look at Seijuro. “Why has she been crying?” He asked.

“I’ll see you guys at Regionals.” She waved, taking this as her cue to leave.

Seijuro and Nitori waved her off, ignoring Rin’s question completely.

“Captain, we need to talk.” Rin said firmly.

Seijuro sighed. “If this is about the girl, it’s none of your-”

“About the _relay_.” Rin cut in.

Seijuro blinked several times in surprise. “I’m listening.”


	10. Episode 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Rei. Rei and Rin. A confrontation between men.

**EPISODE 11**

_\- Iwatobi -_  

* * *

 

 

It was pretty clear to Ako that from the moment Gou announced that Rin would be competing as part of Samezuka’s medley relay team that Rei had a problem.

It was also frustrating since Goro has decided that he’d be training everyone last minute. Thankfully, he didn’t have much as much advice to give to Ako and Ayu since they both have been training non stop since childhood but the intensity of training led the boys to completely miss how torn up Rei was over Rin.

So, it came as no surprise to Ako when Rei asked them what happened between Rin and everyone.

What was shocking was Chigusa.

“That same thing has been bugging me. I mean, I know a bit of it from what Ako and Ayu have been sharing but not the full picture.” She added, arms crossed.

Ako smiled at them and placed a hand on Haru’s shoulder. “They deserve to know. They should have known this whole time, to be honest.” She said. “They’re part of the team. Heck, they’re family. They shouldn’t be left out of the loop.”

“Ako.” Rei and Chigusa said, smiling softly.

Haru looked at his sister and nodded. “I’ll tell you both what happened.”

-

 _Haruka-senpai stopped swimming and even Ako was deeply affected by the harsh words of a friend._ Rei couldn’t wrap his head around it even after he’d heard the entire thing. Why Haru wasn’t free, why Ako still acted like if she didn’t do the thing that pleased everyone she’d let everyone down, and why the team felt so sad was all down to the vindictive feelings of one Matsuoka Rin. He’s asked endlessly about what his motivations might be. But, the truth was, only one person could truly know what those intentions were.

He had to go to the source of the problem. He had to go to Samezuka Academy.

-

“Rei’s not practicing?” Coach Sasabe shouted.

Ako’s eyes widened immediately and she pulled Nagisa to her side after he was done making excuses about spoilt ice cream. “We need to get him back.” She whispered harshly.

“Rei-chan couldn’t have-” Nagisa insisted.

“This is Rei we’re talking about.” Ako sighed, running a hand through her hair. “If anyone would do this, it would be him.” She nodded grimly.

Nagisa looked around at the rest of the team practicing. “You have to go, Ako-chan.” He said, pushing Ako to the changing rooms. “I have tons of practice I need. You’re practically ready for regionals. Goro won’t let me off the hook but he’ll let _you_.”

“Are you crazy? I’m not going to Samezuka by myself.” She protested.

“No one is going to Samezuka.” Chigusa said, crossing her arms. “We need to let Rei do what he needs to do and we need to do what we have to do which is practice.” She said, setting her proverbial foot down.

“But, Hana-chan-” Ako protested.

“Do you trust Ryugazaki-kun?” Chigusa asked.

“With my life.” Ako replied immediately and without question.

Chigusa smirked, having effortlessly won the argument to Ako’s disdain. “He will tell you both everything after practice.” He said, turning them both around and towards the pool.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

Rin sighed, walking out of the swimming hall. He wasn’t sure he had the patience to deal with this right now. Who was this Ryugazaki guy anyway?

“Rin, was it?”

“It’s you. The guy Ako had to save.” He honestly couldn’t believe his eyes. Was the Speedo Megane really dedicated enough to come to Samezuka to find him? Well, if that was true, he could at least spare him some time.

“So? What do you want?” Rin asked impatiently.

Rei adjusted his glasses the fifth time in as many minutes. “I have a few questions for you.”

Rin nearly sighed aloud. “Huh? Go on then.” He said, wanting to get this over with and quickly. He didn’t really have time for this guy who replaced him on Haru’s relay team, especially if he’s not strong enough a swimmer to save himself from _drowning_.

Rei reached up, adjusting his glasses. Again. “Well then, why did you suddenly decide to swim in the relay?” He asked again.

“I changed my mind. You came here just to ask me that?” Rin felt frustration boil up in him. Why did the boy have to be so nosy?

Rei stared at him, deadpan. “I don’t think that’s the whole answer. You’ve been fixated on racing against Haruka-senpai all this time. You thought you couldn’t move on until you beat him.” He squinted at Rin to see if he reacted.

He didn’t have to. Rin’s reactions were about as subtle as a smack to the face. He grimaced. This was going well enough in Rei’s favor. An angry Rin was more likely to talk.

“And, in the last tournament, you did.” He restrained himself, giving his voice a lilt of challenge to draw out the truth from the older boy. “Have you not achieved your goal? Wasn’t it you who said it? _What matters in swimming beyond winning?_ ” He quoted, noting the twitch in Rin’s brow.

Rin was defensive, it showed in his answer. “My goal isn’t to beat Haru. It’s not even to win all the tournaments in the country. I’m aiming higher. My goal is the world.” He said with his chin up.

“The world?” Rei asked like he sincerely doubted Rin could conquer the world in his state. “Very well. Moving on to my second question.” His eyes flashed. “How do you feel about Haruka-senpai?”

Rin almost thought he’d bring up Ako. He’s grateful that Rei didn’t talk about it. Ako was a whole nother can of fish.

… damn Haru’s contagious fish language.

Oh, oh wait. Rei’s still talking.

“In grade school, you and Haruka-senpai were close rivals. I saw old pictures of you guys at Coach Sasabe’s house. You used to smile all the time. With Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai, Ayu-senpai and Nagisa…” He dare not mention Ako, not when pictures of Rin with Ako in it only had her in the corners or a few paces away staring at Rin worshipfully. “You guys were always together and having fun.”

Here was the heart of the matter. “So then, what changed after you left to study abroad? Why didn’t you contact Haruka-senpai or any of the others upon returning to Japan?” He asked, arms crossed. “What happened while you were abroad?”

 _‘That’s different from the question you asked, Rei.’_ Ako said snidely in the back of Rei’s mind.

Rei shook his head and pushed on despite the warnings of his internal Ako monologue. “You used to be good friends, so why? You swam in a relay together, so why?” He asked, unable to understand how he can swim a relay with them and act like this. “You must have been thrilled about swimming in a relay with them! Aren’t you the one who understands more than anyone else how great that relay was-”

“Shut up!” Rin finally screamed, all of his frustration erupting in one giant blast. “I let you talk and you start spouting stupid fallacies at me!” He grit his teeth. “Why do I have to explain myself to you?” He asked.

 _‘He has a point.’_ Inner Ako-logue spoke again and really Rei would rather it shut up.

Rei, to do something, fixed his glasses one more time. “Because I’m a victim.” He frowned. “I used to be on the track team but I ended up joining the swim club. After seeing the Nanases swim, Ako and then Haruka-senpai, I wanted to swim like them. I wanted Ako’s passion. I wanted Haruka-senpai’s freedom.” He swallowed thickly, he’s not admitted this to anyone and it’s a little funny that he’s saying it to a complete stranger.

The way Rin’s face grew slack and then fond before hardening made him think he understood. He continued with conviction.

“Practice was hard at first, but it started to grow on me. Before long, I started having fun swimming with everyone.” He smiled. “At prefecturals, I finally swam a relay with them. That was the first time I really understood relays beyond the theory.” He looked up at Rin with pure joy. “I realized how fun they could be and I wished I could swim a relay with everyone! The guys and the girls too!”

Rin felt ice cold understanding taking him over, bringing back memories from the past they he hadn’t returned to for a long time.

He touched his chest with his palm. “I can still remember how it felt. We were finally united as one! We felt like a real team!” His hand rolled into a fist. “And yet they can’t stop talking about you!” He grit his teeth. “Rin! Rin! Rin!” He shouted.

“That’s not my problem!” Rin yelled back.

“Like hell it’s not!” Rei retorted, charging forward and pinning Rin to the wall by the jacket. “It’s your fault that Haruka-senpai stopped swimming!”

Rin growled. “Hah? What are you talking about?” He struggled against Rei’s grip but he was strong.

“Haruka-senpai felt guilty about beating you in middle school!” Rei shouted, completely oblivious to how frigid Rin became, his eyes wide with unparalleled shock. “So why are you all acting this way? I don’t get it! You beat Haruka-senpai in your last race, isn’t that enough? Why are you swimming the relay now? What do you want to do? What do you want from Haruka-senpai? What will it take to satisfy you?” He glared.

Rei breathed hard, feeling everything drain from his body. His anger at Rin for putting all this pressure on Haru, for making Ako cry, for sullying swimming for himself and his friends, for making Makoto (ever smiling Makoto) frown and worry, for turning unshakeable Ayu unsure, for making headstrong Nagisa evasive, for making Gou feel inadequate all spilling out in one fell swoop.

And Rin stayed silent.

“In that case… what about you?” Rin asked, not having answered any of Rei’s questions. “You weren’t involved in any of this so why are you giving me all this grief?” He gripped Rei’s slackened wrists in his hands and pried them away, pulling Rei close by the collar. “What do _you_ want to do?” He asked, because he himself didn’t have an answer.

When Rei answered him it was with complete surety.

“I want our team to win a tournament.” He said simply. “And I want to swim as a member of that team.”

Rin, not knowing what to do in the face of his honest answer, let him go.

“That’s what I want.” He picked up his backpack. “If you interfere, I will never forgive you.”

Rei’s voice haunted him all night long.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Rei’s Apartment_ -

* * *

 

 

Nagisa and Ako burst through Rei’s doors, both scrambling to hug and hold Rei.

“Rei-chan, you’re alive!” Ako sobbed, holding onto Rei’s shirt like a leech while batting Nagisa away. “I kept telling Chigusa I had to go and make sure Rin didn’t bite your head off but stupid Coach Goro was nuts with worry over you saying you weren’t taking care of yourself and to buy you something and Nagisa wanted to get you strawberries even though he said strawberry ice cream made you sick like an idiot-” She babbled.

“But, Ako-chan, I was worried too. And Mako-chan and Haru-chan and Ayu-chan were worried so they came with us and Gou-chan and Hana-chan made get well cards with words of wisdom from Ama-chan-sensei.” Nagisa added, both of them ending up babbling nonsensically and gripping Rei’s sides.

Rei stared down at his two crazy best friends and blinked in shock. “Everybody was worried about me?” He asked.

“Of course.” Haru said bluntly.

“It was the first time you ever missed practice.” Makoto smiled.

Ayu giggled next to him. “It’d be one thing if Nagisa missed…”

Nagisa shot away from Rei and waggled a finger in front of Ayu’s face. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” He pouted, protesting.

Encouraged by the good-natured bickering, Ako poked her head out of Rei’s chest and started going through his trophies with a nostalgic smile. “These are all from middle school. You were a talented kid.” She then pointed to the shelves. “But now you have all these swimming books.” She grinned.

“You’ve read all these books?” Haru asked, impressed.

Rei shrugged. “Yes, I’ve got all the theory down.”

“Rei-chan, you’re not supposed to say that!” Nagisa whined. “You’ll set yourself up to fail!” He cried out.

“Why’s that?” He deadpanned.

Haru interrupted. “Rei, did you really talk to Rin?” He asked.

Both Rei and Nagisa stopped bickering to look at Haru. Rei didn’t deny it. “Yes, I did.” He admitted with a heavy heart.

“Was it because I told you about our past?” Haru asked again, his tone encouraging.

Rei shook his head. “No, I had my own reasons for wanting to meet Rin-san.” All the boys looked down at the ground but Ako sensed the closure and clarity in Rei’s voice and smiled. “But, it’s okay now. I’m done worrying about him.” He smiled at Ako. “He’s not my problem.”

“The four of us are a team now, Rei.” Haru nodded.

Rei’s eyes widened.

“Yup, I mean it goes without saying we’ll always be friends.” Ako ruffled his hair. “But, you’re family now.”

Ayu did the same. “And it’s a huge messed up family, you’ll love it.” She winked.

“We need you to contribute to the team.” Makoto agreed.

“Every member is irreplaceable, Rei-chan.” Nagisa said lastly, bringing them full circle.

It was there, sitting in Rei’s tiny living room, that everyone felt at peace with each other.

Somehow, Ako felt like it was just the calm before the storm.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Bus Station -_

* * *

 

 

“Okay, I’ve taught you basically everything I can. All that’s left is for you to do your best!” Sasabe shouted enthusiastically.

Both teams and their mentors were gathered at the bus station, ready to depart for regionals. Ama would be coming the next day, because she still had some things to finish up at home.

“The banner is really embarrassing.” Rei murmured, obviously not too happy about it.

“My chibis!! You finally remembered them!” Ako looked ready to cry from happiness. In the top corner of the banner, 8 small figures were drawn, each resembling a member of the team.

Just as Ama was about to say another one of her proverbs, a bus pulled up, causing everyone to stop listening to her and start boarding the bus.

They were in for a very long ride.

Thankfully, they had the whole bus for themselves. At first it seemed like a good thing, because they could be loud without disturbing anyone.

Then, Ako took out the speakers. It was in that moment that the boys realised they were screwed. At the same time, Nagisa presented them with a bag of suspicious-looking pocky.

It seemed like a catastrophe. Nagisa was trying to get everyone to eat that same pocky, and when he didn’t succeed, he resorted to shoving it into the mouth of the nearest person. That nearest person was Rei.

“Hm, what will mr. shuffle say?” Ako was scrolling through her playlist, searching for a good song. Just then, she found a good one.

Ayu groaned when she heard the intro, but at the same time opened her mouth and began to sing in a very displeased voice.

“ _Come on over in my direction. So thankful for that, it's such a blessin', yeah_ ”

A collective groan went through the group as well. It was obvious they didn’t want to listen to the song either. However, Ako was in a good mood and she was gonna torture them as much as possible.

Four minutes later, it was finally over. This time, another difficulty awaited them. It appeared that the pocky Nagisa had offered them earlier was either expired or just really, really bad, because by now, Rei was leaning against the window, looking very green.

Thankfully for everyone, the first stop came very quickly, and Rei was able to empty his stomach in peace. In the meantime, the rest of the group got ice cream and patiently waited for him to return.

In the next leg of the journey, Ako was gracious enough to promise to sing until the next stop on one condition: if Makoto sang instead of her. And so, the group got a reprise of their Karaoke night during training camp. This time, they even managed to get him to do air guitar! Ayu regretted agreeing to the ‘No photos or videos rule”.

Other than that, they also managed to eat a whole pack of chips each, causing in them being very full the next time they made a stop. However, since it was around lunchtime, they still had some udon and soba, just because. At the same stop, Rei found some more candy for later, though everyone suspected he only bought it because it was wrapped in paper with butterflies on it.

After that stop, they all calmed down a bit, mostly going to sleep, partly because they were tired already, partly because more people had boarded the bus by now, so they were at least going to be polite.

A while later, when the sun had already set, everyone was in quite comical positions. Mako was leaning on the seat in front of him while sleeping and Haru was resting his head on the window, while his body was at an awkward angle, so more could fit in the seat.

Rei was sleeping perfectly upright, looking almost like a statue, but the picture was disturbed by Nagisa’s body draped over him, as the boy slept with his mouth wide open.

Chigusa and Gou were the most normal ones, only leaning against each other’s shoulders. However, on the seats behind them laid the biggest masterpiece of them all.

Ayu was leaning on the window, one of her legs draped over Ako’s while the younger girl leaned on Ayu, her legs sticking out into the aisle.

Well, Ayu wasn’t really sleeping, she was just resting with her music, while quietly murmuring “ _Suki Suki, Puwa Puwa_.”

Just when she was about to skip to the next song, she cast a glance out the window and spotted their destination. Excitedly, she started shaking everyone around her, trying to get them to wake up before they arrived, so they’d be at least somewhat conscious.

When they got off, they just stretched for a few minutes before embarking on the adventure toward their hotel. However, what they didn’t notice was that Ayu had spotted a small puppy shaking at the edge of the station and had walked away towards it.

“Hey, little one. Are you lost?”

The puppy had black fur, and was quite small, but from a glance, Ayu assumed that it would maybe grow a bit, but probably wouldn’t get too big in the future. She smiled to herself. They already had Kacchan, so another puppy wouldn’t hurt, right?

She scooped him up (upon doing that, she saw that it was a boy) and turned around to ask Makoto if he was okay with that.

Only to find that the group had already left, leaving her alone in an unknown city.

“Why am I not surprised.”

However, after looking at the puppy in her arms, who had already nested himself there, she couldn’t help but smile gently.

“I guess I’ll have some time to think of a name for you. Now if only I could remember the name of the hotel. What was it… Imperial? Premium?”

She sighed. This would be fun.

A while later, she had managed to find some directions by asking around. At this point, she had also realized how scared the puppy was of everyone. Each time she’d approach someone, or they’d enter a crowd, he’d start whining and would press himself closer to Ayu.

At one point, she passed next to a boy who looked strikingly familiar, like a punch from the past. It also didn’t help that he looked hopelessly lost, something that happened to that person more often than he’d like to admit.

However, she just shook her head and continued on. It was impossible. That couldn’t be Sousuke, he didn’t even live nearby.

A small voice told her that it might be because he was also competing in the regionals, but she ignored it. If that was the case, she’d see tomorrow.

Thankfully, after a few false turns, and quite a bit of walking in circles, she had finally managed to find the hotel. It was right when she spotted it, when it occurred to her just how stupid she had been. Why didn’t she just call them? However, taking out her cell phone proved that even if she had thought of it earlier, it would’ve been useless, since it was empty.

Well, it didn’t matter now. She had already found the hotel.

After a small chat with the receptionist, who didn’t seem to care for the privacy of the hotel guests, she had a spare key to her and Ako’s room and was climbing up the stairs, careful not to move too much, since the puppy had fallen asleep.

By now, she had went through quite a lot of names, but just couldn’t settle for a good one. She always seemed to make a loop with her choices, coming back to names that obviously didn’t fit him.

Loop. Tamaki.

Ayu smiled.

She finally found a perfect name for him.

Just as the name occurred to her, she realised she was in front of her room. Shifting a bit, and managing to wake Tamaki up in the process, she inserted the key in the door and opened it.

“Oh, you finally came.”

“Glad to see you were worried about me, Ako. Really warms my heart.”

Ako looked at her with the classic Nanase look.

“When we went back to the bus station you weren’t there anymore and your phone was turned off. We figured you’d find your way.”

Before she could say anything else, Ako finally spotted the bundle of fur moving around in Ayu’s arms.

“Is that… Is that a dog?”

Ayu gave her a sheepish smile.

“Ako, meet Tamaki. He’ll be staying with us. Hopefully. Ah, I gotta ask Mako about that. Do you think he’ll say yes?”

Ako could only stare in disbelief as the older girl rambled on.

“I have to give him a bath as well! And buy some dog food and a collar. And I really need to persuade Mako into letting me keep him. Oh, crap, how will Kacchan react to another dog? He’s always been a bit wild…”

Deciding it was time to stop her rambling, Ako cut in.

“Look, we can think about that later. For now, we need to go get dinner. He seems calm enough, so take him with us and we can get him a collar and a leash.

“Wait you’re okay with me keeping him?”

“Why not. But you seriously need to take him to the vet as soon as possible. And don’t forget to wash your hands.”

Ayu laughed quietly, following the younger Nanase.

-

One very nice meal of yakisoba and a dessert of crepes, the girls were all walking back to their hotel. On their way towards the restaurant, they found a pet shop that was still open and bought everything they’d need for the new addition to the Tachibana family. Thankfully, Ayu was always a bit panicky, and usually had more money on her than needed, so they had enough to buy everything. They had even managed to find flea and tick shampoo. All that was left to do was to actually wash Tamaki.

Thankfully, Ayu was more than ready to do that. It was becoming increasingly obvious that she had grown very attached to the dog already. No one could blame her, though, because with his timid nature and pointed ears, he did give you the feeling of wanting to protect him.

Now came the hard part. Asking Makoto.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t think mom and dad would mind, especially because it doesn’t seem like he’ll grow much more. And Ren and Ran definitely wouldn’t mind. Maybe now they’ll stop complaining about how the other always hoggs Kacchan.”

Well that was surprisingly easy.

As much as Ayu would’ve loved to stay up and play with Tamaki, they had an important competition the next day. And it seemed like the puppy was also getting tired, since he had curled up in the makeshift bed Ayu made him from towels.

And so, their eventful day had come to an end.

Or so they thought.

-

Rin heard footsteps approaching and he turned to face Rei one more time.

He didn’t know why it was so important for him to say this to Ryugazaki of all people. He owed nothing to him. Just a few days ago he resented him for taking his place in his team. Now, he looked forward to facing off against him. He hoped he’d polished his truly horrendous butterfly a little before the tournament.

He breathed and took one last look at his phone, at the picture of Ako drooling all over Ayu’s shoulder, before shutting it off. He should talk to Gou about all these pictures.

“Yo.” He greeted, turning to the stony-eyed megane.

Rei glared at him. “Did you want something?” He asked.

Rin remembered how Rei confronted him like this, called him out on his bullshit, and he almost chuckled. “I never answered your question.” He said.

“That’s no longer necessary.” Rei answered, hoping to end this quickly.

“No.” Rin protested. “I’ll give you my answer. I won’t feel like it’s over until I do.”

Rei stayed silent. This was a pattern with Matsuoka Rin. He always struggles for closure. Always looks for it. He will humor him this time or else he’ll look for another way to harass Rei.

“You want to know how I feel about Haru, right?” He asked, holding back a snort at the wording. “It’s true that I was fixated on racing him. But, it’s not his fault that I wanted to quit swimming.” He waited for Rei to finish being shocked and told his story, the story of his move to Australia, of his failure to break through.

The story of his return to both Iwatobi and to swimming.

“When I watched you guys swim at prefecturals, it reminded me of middle school.” He smiled. He remembered enthusiastic Nagisa asking to be allowed to swim with the older kids, of headstrong Ayu meeting Sousuke for the first time in Sano and telling him about Haru’s team, of loyal Makoto and how he cried when Haru almost drowned in the river, of stubborn Haru who only swam free and was too serious even then, and yes, even tiny Ako, who followed him everywhere like a second shadow and mastered butterfly for him and nearly drowned in the ocean trying to impress him. “It reminded me… of our relay.”

Rin shook himself away from the memories. “You’re Ryugazaki, right?” He asked. He didn’t have to. Gou told him all about Rei and about how close he and Nagisa and Ako were, the three musketeers. “I’m going to swim in Samezuka’s relay. I’m going to show you how good I can be. So do the best you can with Haru and your other teammates.”

“But, that also means that…” Rin stared him down. “You can’t embarrass your team.”

Rei’s breath left his lungs and he stood there until Rin was gone.

“That is basically approval coming from him.”

Rei jumped up and spun around only to find Ako perched on top of the fence. “Ako?”

“You think I’d let you face Rin alone again?” She hopped off, smiling. “But, it looks like you don’t need my help.” Grinning, she waved at him. “Nagisa is looking for you. Don’t sleep too late.”

Rei grinned back at her. “Speak for yourself, Ako.”


	11. Episode 12

**EPISODE 12**

_\- Regionals -_

* * *

 

 

“ _Rage!_ ” Ako screamed, jumping up. “ _On up until the moment! You’ve got to look! Away from the blinding dazzling lightttt!_ ” She screeched, loudly strumming on her air guitar. “This place is huge!” She shouted again, throwing her arms out making many of the spectators turn to look at her.

Ayu sighed. “Who let Ako have Gatorade? I will _kill_ you.” She muttered.

Makoto turned to ask where Haru’d gotten the Gatorade but noticed the anxious look on his face. “Seems Rin isn’t here yet.” Makoto smiled. There was something different about Haru’s anxiety now. “I’m sure he’ll show up soon.”

“Yeah.” Haru nodded and smiled.

Ako sighed, glad that Haru’s figured things out for himself. “If we win today we can make it to nationals.” She said, hoping to raise everyone’s spirits. Instead, the boys hung their heads. “Guys-”

“Don’t wuss out now!” Coach Sasabe yelled into his microphone causing everyone’s postures to straighten. “Stop worrying about the outcome! Just be free. Swim to your heart’s content! Swim so you have no regrets!” He yelled, ignoring the shock on everyone’s faces as he said so.

“Ayu-chan and Ako-chan will lead us to victory for singles!” Nagisa cheered, wrapping his arms around the two girls.

“Don’t pin everything on us!” Ayu laughed.

Ako nodded. “Yeah, you guys have to do your best too!”

Everyone was in high spirits… at least, until the men’s singles freestyle.

“Men’s 100 meter freestyle. Heat three.” The announcer’s voice echoed around the stadium as Iwatobi’s swim team got up to peer down at the assembly.

Nagisa’s face grew serious. “Rin’s up next.” He said. And next to him, Haru nodded.

Ako’s grip on the handlebars tightened when she saw the look on Rin’s face. Contempt. Anger. Bitterness. Loss. Such complete and terrible loss. Any swimmer who goes out to compete with such conflicting feelings has no place on a starting block. And yet, there Rin was. Ako could only close her eyes when the whistle was blown and Rin dove in late.

“Rin dove in late!” Makoto shouted worriedly, peering over the railing.

Haru’s mouth hardened into a straight line. He was worried too. “He’ll make up for it in the turn.” He said, putting his faith in Rin’s strong kick.

Normally, Ako would agree, but…

Rin’s kick wouldn’t have been strong enough to kick over a Wet Floor sign. He lagged behind and stuck out like a sore thumb and in an attempt to avert her eyes Ako looked down at the frantically cheering Samezuka Team where Mikoshiba Seijuro stared sadly down at Rin.

“Haru!” Makoto shouted as the entire swim club raced after Ako’s older brother.

Ako stayed standing there until Seijuro finally turned to meet her eyes. She grit her teeth, she knew the kind of choice he had to make. It was clear in that race that Rin wasn’t ready to swim. He was too torn up inside.

But, that understanding still stung Ako as she nodded in Seijuro’s direction and turned around.

“Do we follow?” Ayu asked, gesturing to the group of boys running to Rin.

Ako let them go ahead before running after them with Ayu on her heels. This might not be any of Ako’s business, that’s why she’d let them have a head start, but she wanted to make sure they got to the bottom of it.

“What was I thinking? Of course we’re following.” Ayu scoffed, skidding to a stop and almost knocking Ako over. “Ako? What’s-”

“ ** _Shut up!_** ” The sound of fist meeting plexiglass signalled that they’d found Matsuoka Rin.

And he wasn’t happy.

“It doesn’t matter! I don’t give a damn about what happens! I’m obviously no better than what you just saw!”  He shouted, poor Nitori looked like he was going to cry. “That’s why I was taken off the relay!”

Ako gasped, so Seijuro did take him off the relay team. She’d suspected as much.

“Forget it! I’m done swimming!” He screamed and for a moment Ako remembered that time in middle school after Haru and Rin raced and then never again. Rin walked away now the same way he walked away then.

Haru’s hand was gentle on her shoulder and she turned around to hug him.

“Rin was removed from the relay?” Nagisa said, breaking the silence.

Makoto grimaced, his arm around Ayu. “We thought we’d be able to race Rin if we made it to the finals.” Both Tachibanas turned around in time for Haru to lean against the wall and slide down to the floor bringing Ako with him, still wrapped in each other’s embrace.

“I won’t get to swim with-” Haru choked.

Ako pulled him closer, holding her own tears at bay.

Ayu looked at her brother then at Ako before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We have our heats soon Ako.” She said sadly.

Ako shook her head. “I can’t.” Haru brought her closer to him. “I can’t do it.”

Rei stared at his role-model and his best friend, both in immense pain. There wasn’t much time for them to be sad with the relay prelims in only half an hour but Rei had to tell them. The Nanases have taught him a lot, and the team took him in and made him one of their own. It was time that Rei pulled his weight.

“Last night, Rin called me out to talk.” Rei explained, gaining everyone’s attention. “He told me that when he said he wanted to quit swimming in middle school, it wasn’t because he lost to Haruka-senpai. He hit a wall while training abroad and his confidence was shaken. That’s why he wanted to quit swimming.”

Ako looked up into the watery eyes of her older brother and frowned. “Nii.”

“But, after returning to Japan, running into Haruka-senpai, and racing him again he could put it behind him. After watching us swim at prefecturals, he remembered what it was like and wanted to swim in a relay again. That’s why he said he’d swim with Samezuka to give us the best relay ever.” Rei explained.

Nagisa blinked. “I didn’t realize he felt that way” He said, and no one could blame him. Rin put up a solid front and didn’t waver in front of them, not like he did with Ako or even Rei it seemed.

Rei shook his head, feeling like he was the only one who understood Rin at this point. “That’s not what he wants.” He said firmly.

“What do you mean?” Ako asked, hers and Haru’s grip loosening as Rei continued to speak.

Rei adjusted his glasses. “He didn’t care about the race. He just wanted to swim with all of you again.” He said plainly.

Haru gasped next to her and Ako felt a small smile blooming on her face.

“To swim with the best teammates he could have.” Rei stated.

Haru stood up, extending a hand to Ako to help her up too. “How do you know that?” He asked, not daring to hope.

“Because,” Rei smiled. “I feel the same way he does.” He laughed sheepishly. Ako felt unshed tears fall at his admittance. “I wanted to swim in a relay with all of you, even Ayu-san, Gou-san, Hana-san, and Ako.”

“Rei.” Ako bit her lip, feeling affection swell in her chest for her best friend. A month ago Rei probably would have told anyone that the point of sports was to win. But now, in front of her stood a completely different boy.

“I wanted to swim with the best teammates I could ask for.” Rei said with a nod, turning to face Haru. “I’m sure you feel the same way, Haruka-senpai! The race itself isn’t important! There’s someone you want to swim with, right?” He asked.

Haru shook and took a deep breath. “I want to swim with Rin.”

“If you don’t do something Rin will quit swimming. You’re the only ones who can help him.” Rei said, pointing a finger in the air. “There’s only one possible solution!” He shouted, frustrated at their idleness.

The Nanase siblings gasped and looked at each other before turning back to Rei.

“Rei…” Ako started.

“Are you really okay with that?” Haru asked, ending their sentence.

Rei adjusted his glasses and grinned. “Of course!”

Ako looked at the nearest wall clock and gasped. “Well, you guys better run because you’re out of time!” She grabbed Ayu by the arm. “And so are we, your heat is in five minutes, Ayu-chan!” She shouted, dragging the female Tachibana to the lockers with her.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Ayu cursed and ripped off her jacket just in time to line up for her heat.

“Thank God.” Ako sighed, turning around. “Now, my heat is in the other hall-” She set off to sprint to her own assembly but was stopped by a tall figure with dark hair and familiar teal eyes. “Ya-Yamazaki?” She asked.

The dark haired man’s eyes widened and he drew his hood over his head and kept walking past her like nothing happened towards a seat in the bleachers.

“Am I a ghost or something?” She asked herself before smiling. “Ah, damn it, my race.” She ran and ran until she reached the other hall and lined up with the other swimmers including a smug looking Maehara.

“Thought about running from our tete a tete, Nanase?” She grinned toothily in a way that reminded Ako uncomfortably of Rin. She hoped the boys found him and that her heats would finish soon so she could see their relay.

“You’d do well to remember, I taught you to swim in middle school.” She smirked. “So the only reason you’ll ever be sitting on your laurels in this sport is because I gave them to you.” She winked, leaving behind a pissed off Maehara Nika.

A swimmer should never stand on the starting block with mixed feelings. She should have learned that from Rin’s race.

Oh well… Second place was fine. She had two more years. At least she beat Maehara.

-

When Rin first saw Haru after his loss it was with a look of disdain and anger contorting his face. “What are you doing here? Come to laugh at my pathetic loss?” He asked.

“Rin…” Haru stepped forward, not sure what to say. He’s never really sure, that’s why he’s the quiet one damn it.

“You saw what happened in that free and I was taken out of the relay. The world is laughing at me. So join in! No need to pity me.” He turned to face Haru, gesturing self-depreciatingly at himself. “I said laugh! I’m not even good enough to race you guys in a relay!” He screamed.

“Calm down, Rin!” Haru finally said, thinking it was something Ako might say.

“Shut up!” Rin retorted. “What do you know?”

Haru’s hands were shaking. Why was he the only one who could fix this? Ako could have spoken easier. She’s always known how to calm Rin down. But, Ako had three races to swim, and all Rin had was Haru and his awkward articulation. He had to calm down and express himself clearly.

“I know… how fun it is to swim with friends. How nice it feels to swim in a relay together.” His hands balled up into fists. “You’re the one who showed me that, Rin!” He exclaimed as simply and as clearly as he could. “You’re the reason we-”

Rin lunged forward and shook him by his jacket, a defense mechanism he seemed to employ every time someone got too close to what he was feeling. “Shut up!” He yelled.

“I understand now! I found the answer!” He took Rin’s wrists. “Why it is I swim! Who I’m swimming for!” He shouted. It wasn’t something Haru did often and it showed in how shocked Rin was to hear him.

But, Rin’s face remained guarded. “I told you to shut up!”

Rin’s fist flew forward and Haru stopped it by grabbing his wrist sending them both tumbling down onto the ground. They both rolled in the dirt until Haru stopped and Rin’s eyes caught sight of the writing on the ground.

In the dirt, Haru had written **_For the team_**.

Haru turned his head and noticed. “This tree looks like the cherry blossom tree that was in the school yard. Isn’t that why you’re here?” He asked.

Rin’s grip slackened and tears fell onto Haru’s cheeks but he didn’t mind because Rin was crying. “Why?” Rin asked, his voice breaking. “Why can’t I be free? I wanted to swim with you guys. I wanted to swim in a relay with you guys.”

Haru stared up at his friend and smiled. “It’s not too late.” Haru said, getting up and dusting himself off. “Let's go, Rin.”

Rin blinked at him, confused.

“There they are!” Makoto shouted from behind them and Rin turned to find Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei standing there. “Rin-chan!” Nagisa greeted warmly.

“You guys…” Rin stuttered, his voice hoarse.

Rei crossed his arms in a parody of an exasperated mother. “Honestly, watching you irritates me so much.” He sighed. “If you want to swim go ahead!” He insisted.

“Rin, come on.” Haru straightened and held out his hand. “It’s my turn to show you something you’ve never seen before.”

Rin stared at Haru. If he squinted, he could almost see Ako standing next to him laughing and teasing them for how long it took them to come to this conclusion. And Rin smiled.

“Let’s go, Haru.”

 

* * *

\- _Regionals: Medley Relay, Heat 1_ -

* * *

 

 

Ako breathed hard. She got third in both of her freestyle events and second in her butterfly event. But, it hardly mattered to her now. All she could think of was getting there in time. She skidded to a halt between Ayu and Gou, noting Ayu’s lack of smile. “Did I miss it?” She asked.

“They’re not here yet.” Ayu grimaced. “I didn’t make it, you?”

Ako contemplated mentioning Sousuke to Ayu but decided it might have been her imagination. “No, but that’s not important. Where are the boys?” She asked Gou but the younger Matsuoka only shook her head.

Chigusa screamed, pointing down at one of the supervisors. “They’re here!” She yelled as Makoto, Haru, and Nagisa came into view. “Looks like they made it in time.” She sighed.

Ako spotted a familiar built following behind Nagisa and snickered.

That was definitely _not_ Rei.

“They’re starting.” Ayu said with a smirk of her own as Makoto stepped into the pool and got into starting position.

Again, he pulled himself up and waited for the whistle.

The shriek of the whistle was loud in everyone’s ears and Makoto was off like a shot. Despite the raised level of difficulty in regionals, Makoto moved swiftly and garnered a significant lead over their competitors, turning and kicking strong enough to carry him half of the way through the pool before touching the wall and handing it off to Nagisa.

The girls were on the edge of the rails, unable to speak because of the tenseness of the situation they let Chigusa and Gou do all the cheering whilst remaining completely oblivious of the person standing on the starting block until Nagisa was making his way back.

“They’re in third place ahead of top schools!” Coach Sasabe rejoiced. “Rei’s up next.”

Ako finally burst out laughing with Ayu following after her receiving strange looks from Goro, Amakata, Gou, and Chigusa. “Are you sure?” She grinned, pointing at the person standing on the starting block. “Because, I’m pretty sure that’s not Rei.”

“What?!” They all screamed.

“Though, I’d take bets if you want.” Ayu high fived Ako.

With a deadly shark-toothed smirk, Rin crouched down and dove into the water with a sureness that he’d sorely missed in his own individual race.

Nagisa touched the wall and surfaced. “Rin-chan!” He screamed, but Rin was already at the halfway mark.

“Ike, Ike, Ike, Ike, Ike, Ri-in!” Nagisa got out of the pool and looked up to the stands where Ako, Ayu, and Rei were cheering for Rin. Gou and the rest were too shocked at first but joined in, causing the Samezuka team to merge with their cheers.

Ako grit her teeth and stepped onto the railings bringing the sign up with her. “IIIIIKEEEEEE, RIN!” She screamed as if she was being murdered and Ayu jumped up to hold her around the waist so the idiot wouldn’t die via falling from the bleachers.

By the time Haru traded off with Rin, Ako’s voice was hoarse but she kept on cheering. “ONII-CHAAAN!” She yelled.

Samezuka did a collective head turn to look at the screaming girl that was Nanase Haruka’s younger sister. “Onii-chan???” They said.

“Oi! Who told you to stop cheering!” Captain Mikoshiba shouted, redirecting the attention back to the relay.

“Haru!” Makoto shouted from the end of the pool, joined by Nagisa’s own shout of “Haru-chan”, Rei’s “Haruka-senpai”, and Rin’s “Haru!!”. All four voices pushed Haru to finally overtake the last of their opponents and reach out to tap the wall first.

> 1  Iwatobi High School Swim Club

Haru pulled off his swim cap and breathed heavily, only looking up when a familiar hand reached down to help him out. He followed the hand up to the face of the boy who has stood by him all his life.

“Haru.” Makoto smiled at him.

Nagisa was weeping helplessly next to him. “Haru-chan! Haru-chan!” He sobbed.

“Nagisa, stop crying!” Makoto laughed.

Haru took Makoto’s hand with a smile and let him pull him up until his feet hit cold but solid ground. By the time Makoto let go, however, another lean figure wrapped his arms around Haru and started crying.

Makoto and Nagisa, taking this as permission, each cried out Haru’s name and jumped in to hug both Rin and Haru.

“Oi!” Haru protested, the heavy forms of his friends putting him off his balance.

“Haru.” Rin’s voice rose above Makoto’s and Nagisa’s laughter. “That was the best thing I could ever have asked for.” He admitted, his voice still strained from the crying.

Rin let one of his arms surround Makoto and pull all four of them into a circle. “Makoto. Nagisa.” He grinned toothily at his teammates.

“Rin!” Makoto echoed.

Nagisa giggled. “Rin Rin!” He contributed, grinning brightly.

All four of them erupted into relieved laughter.

Rei looked down at them fondly. “Next time, for sure.” He said, nodding. But, for now, his gaze went down to Ayu shoving forward a much younger and more nervous looking Nanase towards the group of hugging boys.

“Come on, Ako-chan!” Ayu finally yelled, frustrated beyond belief by Ako’s nerves. She wasn’t even this nervous during the competition but the sight of Rin was making her shaky and she held both of her hands in prayer position in front of her face as she’s pushed forward to keep her hands from trembling.

That failed. Her hands were trembling. But now, everyone could see it.

“Haru.” Rin said, turning Haru so he was facing his teary-eyed little sister.

But Haru smiled, stepping aside. Her gaze wasn’t fixed on Haru. It never was. “Not me, Rin.” He smirked. “You.” He said, shoving Rin forward and nearly tripping the red head.

Rin held his arms open and gasped when Ako sprinted forward and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. “I- Ako-” He stuttered before finally giving in and pulling Ako in with all the strength he had left in his arms, his nose buried firmly in her dark hair. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He said into the dark locks.

“Stop, it’s okay.” Ako said, hiccuping. She pulled away a bit so she could look into his eyes, his dark red eyes. “It’s okay.” She reached up to flick some hair out of his face. “You’re back.” She grinned before hopping up and wrapping her arms around his neck, laughing. “And you’re tall! That’s not fair! I didn’t allow you to be this much taller than me!” She teased.

“Oh yeah?” Rin grinned and lifted her effortlessly into the air, swinging her threateningly over the side of the pool. “How’s this for too tall, huh?” He chuckled, ignoring the way Ako jokingly swatted at his back with her tiny fists.

Ayu smiled at her best friend finally happy after such a long time. “Too bad there’ll be repercussions to face.” She sighed, shaking her head.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

 

“Hello, everyone. My name is Matsuoka Rin.” Ayu froze, poking her head into her classroom only to shake her head. “I previously went to Samezuka Academy.” She heard him sigh and giggled. “My name may be girly but I’m a boy.”

“You call that an introduction?” Ayu burst out laughing.

Rin glared at the girl. “Shut up!” He shouted. “These guys made me-”

“Come on, everyone!” Ako called out, skipping into the room and then twirling with a flourish. “It’s time for joint practice. Gou sent me to make sure you guys weren’t playing around.” She winked and made a finger gun motion.

“My name’s Nanase Akio, call me Ako. Sounds like a guy’s name but I’ll kick ass better than any guy you know!” She introduced.

Nagisa started clapping wildly. “See, Rin. That’s how you introduce yourself!” He teased. “Let’s get going, everyone!” He cheered, dragging Ayu to the club room with her much to Ako’s dismay. From behind them both they heard Rin and Haru chatting as they ran.

“Are you still following your father’s dream?” Haru asked.

Rin smirked. “I’m following my own dream now.” He looked forward, his eyes landing on Ako as she ran ahead, neck and neck with Rei in their battle for who would get to the pool first. He smiled. “What about you, Haru?” He asked.

Haru smiled back and looked forward himself, towards the large form of his best friend telling Ako and Rei to slow down or they’ll trip. “I’m...”


	12. Episode 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back? Back again?
> 
> Alternately, Episode 1 (Reprise).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bon Bon Voyage Lyrics from Odii's cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_mWoxaX0GA

**EPISODE 1**

_\- Iwatobi -_

* * *

 

 

Nanase Ako closed the front door as quietly as she could and turned around.

“You were noisy.”

She jumped up, glaring when she caught sight of her older brother. “Onii-chan!” She raised a brow at them, lowering her voice when she remembered what time it was. “You don't usually wake up so early in the morning unless I wake you.”

Haru shrugged and started running down the torii.

“Haru doesn't say it but he admires how dedicated you are to keeping fit, Ako. Even though training with you was a chore to him, he still wants to keep to your routine.” Makoto explained, stretching his legs. “He wants to keep running because of you.” With a wave, Makoto set off to run after Haru. It didn't take much for him to catch up. Haru wasn't a fast runner if a pool wasn’t involved. He's much better in water.

Ako breathed in deeply and took in the light blue of the morning sky. “Looks like it’ll be a great day for swimming.” She giggled.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

Mikoshiba Seijuro tossed his head back and started laughing loudly. “What? Isn’t there anyone here who can beat me?” He asked, cocking his head.

“Please, try to beat him, Nii.” Ako chuckled.

Ayu blinked curiously at the countless tired Samezuka swimmers scattered around the area. “This is the third years’ send off race?” She asked, grinning.

“Looks like a vicious battle.” Makoto added, frowning in sympathy at the losers.

Nagisa peeked out from behind Makoto’s giant frame and put a hand to his forehead in a mock salute. “What kind of harrowing race is it?” He asked.

“A 100 meter race, 100 times.” A familiar voice answered and Ako immediately spun around to smile at the newcomer which could only mean one thing.

It was Matsuoka Rin.

“It’s a Samezuka tradition to continue until someone beats the captain.” He grinned toothily, accepting the greeting hug from Ako with all the enthusiasm of someone who has learned to just let it happen. “Thanks for coming.” He said with a wave, his mouth twitching down to a frown when Ako finally let go of him.

Nagisa hugged him too, but he settled on a much shorter hug. “Have you raced him yet, Rin-chan?” He tilted his head.

Rin shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“But, logically speaking, racing 100 meters 100 times-” Rei reached up to adjust his glasses. “Can’t be possible.” He concluded.

Rin gave him a look that conveyed infinite exasperation. “Captain Mikoshiba defies logic.” He snarked.

Ako brightened again. “Sei!” She cheered, throwing her arms around the taller and older swimmer.

Seijuro grew equally as bright, catching Ako and lifting her in the air effortlessly remembering fond times with his younger siblings. “Ah! My day is infinitely better with you guys around!” He said, setting Ako down and ruffling her hair completely ignoring the glare Rin leveled at him. “How about a race to mark the occasion?” He asked.

“I’m a girl.” She frowned. “There’s no way I’d beat you.”

Seijuro snorted. “I have no doubt in my mind that if you tried hard enough you could.” He pat her back and turned to the rest of the Iwatobi swimmers. “What do you say? Iwatobi versus Samezuka, 400 meter freestyle medley relay?” He grinned. He looked at Ako for a second before turning to Rin. “Matsuoka, you’re swimming in this one!” He gave him a thumbs up.

“Sure.” Rin said nonchalantly.

“Who else wants in?” Seijuro called out.

Nitori ran past and skidded to a stop in front of them. “M-Me!” He said, raising his hand in the air like he was reciting in class.

Ako’s eyes sparkled. “Ai! Amazing!” She smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

“Come on over, Nitori! Who else is on board? Mutsumi, how about you?” He bellowed, calling Ryo over.

As the situation became completely out of hand, Makoto started protesting louder trying to get Seijuro to stop. Unfortunately for them, the moment Seijuro said freestyle Haru was already stripping.

“Guess there’s no helping it.” Makoto sighed.

Nagisa winked at him. “You said it!”

Both boys went to the corner where all their stuff was and pulled out a pair of swim trunks. “I had a feeling Haru would want to swim, so…” Makoto explained sheepishly as Rei screamed about them being traitors.

Seijuro wasted no time, zeroing in on poor Rei. “I told you, there’s no need to be shy!” He nodded to Nitori. “Nitori… take him.” He said with a smile, both Samezuka swimmers ignoring Rei’s protests.

“Hang on!” Ako said, rummaging around her pack and triumphantly pulling out a ziplock with a pair of swim trunks in them similar to Rei’s but somehow shorter.

Rin and Rei stared up at the swim trunks in horror. “Why do you have that?” Rin asked, slightly disturbed. “It’s not beautiful.” Rei choked out, taking the swim trunks.

“Calm down, I always bring extra now since our first joint practice. It’s one of the ones Haru doesn’t use anymore.” She shrugged, ignoring the look of shock on Haru’s face.

The whistle blew and the boys lined up parallel to Samezuka.

“The Samezuka versus Iwatobi freestyle relay!” Nakagawa, one of the Samezuka swimmers, announced, blowing the whistle again. “Ready!” Makoto and Ryo bent down to take their starting positions and waited until the whistle blew one last time before diving in.

Makoto’s strong strokes put him first. “Makoto’s in the lead.” Haru said with a proud lilt in his voice.

Nagisa and Rei chatted, admiring Makoto’s front crawl until it was Nagisa’s turn to step up to the starting block. He jumped a few times and turned to face Ai. “I won’t lose to you, Ai-chan!” He said with a wink.

“Please don’t call me that!” Ai stuttered.

Nagisa giggled and took his position when he saw that Makoto was almost to the end. “Well, I’ll be going ahead.”

Ai watched Nagisa dive with beautiful form and crouched down to take his marks too.

“Ai.” Rin called out gently from behind him, careful not to shock the younger swimmer. “Just keep calm.” Sei stared down at him, smiling. But, Rin ignored him, opting to cross his arms so he’d look a little intimidating.

When Ai jumped into the water, Rin sighed. “You’re bending your knees too much, dummy.”

Sei grinned, coming to a decision, he stepped forward. “I’ll go next.” He said.

“Huh?” Rin stared at his Captain’s back and blinked.

Sei took one more look at Ako, standing to the side with the rest of the Iwatobi Girls’ Medley Team, and smiled sadly. He didn’t have enough time to prove her wrong, sadly. But, Rin was a good guy. “I’ll leave the last leg to you.” He decided.

After all, if he could trust Rin with Ako then he could trust Rin with his team.

“Samezuka’s going to win the relay.” Ako sighed.

Chigusa stared incredulously at her. “How could you pick them over your brother?” She asked, pointing over to Haru who was currently readying himself to race against Rin… as usual.

“Well, Rei’s goggles started slipping since he dove in.” She said, extending one finger as if counting. “As of now, Haru still hasn’t beaten Rin in freestyle. And third-” She points just as Seijuro touches the wall with his hand and passes it off to Rin. “They have Seijuro with them, he’d give them at least a five second lead.”

Gou smiled. “That’s a pretty good deduction, Ako-chan.” She praised, still sad that their team would lose just as Ako said. That much was clear from the gap between Rin and Haru. And while Haru managed to catch up, Iwatobi still lost by a short margin.

“Sometimes, I’m pretty sure you could make the Olympics if you wanted to, Ako.” Ayu smiled encouragingly.

The younger girl blinked up at her and blushed. “That’s not _my_ dream.”

Ayu laughed. “You never know, Ako-chan.” She winked. “You never know.”

“All of you have really worked hard. Today marks the retirement of us third years. All of us leave here with no regrets.” Seijuro said in a clear loud voice for the last time. He stood in front of a line up of graduating swimmers clad in dark Samezuka swim jackets. The scene would be a lot more heartbreaking if Seijuro didn’t have such a ridiculous pair of swim trunks.

Seijuro’s eyes became crazy looking. “However!” He shouted, causing every younger swimmer to cringe in fear. “Your peaceful days won’t last for long! This April, a fearsome new face will enter this club! So, enjoy the rest of your days while you can!” He announced.

Ako froze up, peeking at Ayu discreetly. Ayu looked about as comfortable as her, her usually easy going smile growing cold. “Ayu-chan…” Ako called out. She must have seen him too, then.

“Matsuoka!”

All eyes snapped to Seijuro, forgetting about the new face momentarily.

“Starting tomorrow, you are the new Captain.”

Ako’s eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her lips. Rin? Captain? Seijuro made him captain? A swell of pride engulfed her chest and she and Gou turned to each other, hugging each other in glee.

Seijuro said quietly, staring the redhead down before bursting out into a bright smile. “Take good care of my team.”

Rin nodded and the team clapped, seemingly pleased with the choice of Captain.

“Rin-chan’s the new Captain?” Nagisa asked incredulously.

Gou and Ako continued clapping with wide smiles on their faces.

“Rin-san doesn’t really seem like the Captain type to me.” Rei commented off-handedly.

Gou whipped around, glaring at him the way Rin would at someone who was stupid. “What are you talking about? However you look at him, my brother’s muscles are totally Captain-class!” She shouted, wrapping an arm around Ako. “Right, Ako-chan?”

Ako jumped up, stuttering. “Yeah, of course he’s Captain material.” She agreed.

“Come on, Ako-chan. Don’t be shy. Aren’t my brother’s muscles the best?” Gou wiggled her eyebrows at the younger freestyle swimmer, Ayu silently cheering her on from behind. “Or do you think his muscles aren’t good enough for a captain?” She snickered.

“Of course, Rin’s got great muscles! In fact, they’re not just Captain material, they’re _Olympic_ material. So there!” Ako protested, eyes widening when she realized she’d just… shouted that… in public. “Excuse me while I kill myself.” She said sheepishly, burying her face in her hands and jumping into the pool without once looking at Rin.

Muffled screaming could be heard for at least two minutes until Ako surfaced to swim some laps.

“That was embarrassing.” Ayu deadpanned. “But, totally worth it. Good work, Gou-chan.” She snickered, high-fiving the younger Matsuoka.

“I can’t believe I just heard that with my own two ears.” Rei cringed and Makoto laughed awkwardly spotting Rin with his head down, his ears looking suspiciously red.

Makoto nudged Haru and gestured to Rin.

“Too much effort.” He sighed, diving into the pool with Ako so they could swim laps together.

Makoto sighed, hoping Rin and Ako would sort themselves out.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

  

Ako shifted uncomfortably in her clothes. After that embarrassing joint swim thing with Samezuka, Ako managed to forget all about screaming over Rin’s muscles and said a tentative goodbye to him before promptly sprinting to school for this recruitment presentation they were putting on.

And really, it’s Gou’s idea, so of course she’s got some ulterior motive that was going to embarrass her.

She and Ayu liked the pitch well enough.

“The idea came from you both singing at Samezuka’s Festival!” She explained, laying out the rest of their costume. “You both will be singing Bon Bon Voyage.” She said, her eyes sparkling.

They had to hand it to Gou. The swim outfits were cute and not too revealing. They were in a cute plaid blue and white with matching straw hats with sunflowers stuck to them like flower crowns. It certainly blew that film out of the water.

Ako was mostly amused up until Gou passed an inflatable shark to her. “Gou, why am I supposed to sing while holding this shark?” She asked.

“Actually, yeah… I’ll put it out there as part of the stage.” Gou said before going right out there.

Ako breathed deeply.

“Ako-chan.” Ayu placed a hand on her shoulder and grinned. “Let’s give them a show.” She winked.

Ako grinned back at her and nodded.

Ako and Ayu took their places behind the curtains and smiled brightly as the curtains parted and the music started.

“ _Bon Voyage! And as the sea and skies cross in their hues!_ ” Ayu raised her right hand, pointing to the sky in a circular motion.

“ _All of the blues make way-_ ” Ako’s hand went to her chest and then around her horizontally. “ _For the wind that’ll cut their way through!_ ” They both turned in opposite directions and started dancing.

The crowd started waving white and purple glow sticks that Gou and Chigusa passed around, jumping to the beat. Gou snuck in, dragging a red haired boy with her wearing a jacket which had its hood placed firmly over his eyes. “Keep still.” She scolded, pushing the boy back stage where Haru and the rest were waiting.

“Rin! What took you so long?” Makoto sighed in relief.

Rin rolled his eyes. “It’s all Gou-”

“ _If you pack up all your hopes and dreams- head towards unknown seas- no map or chart to follow._ ” Ayu’s voice snapped them all to attention, bringing everyone’s eyes over to the stage. “ _Bon Voyage._ ” She echoed.

Ako stepped forward, her arms in front of her doing complicated looking movements which were really simple in practice. “ _The compass towards the top spins around-- a full 360 around again again again._ ” She winked, turning back so Ayu could have the floor.

“ _Every chance-_ ” Ayu crooned. “ _Calls toward this dreamy one-way cruise._ ” She sang, walking forward.

Turning back, Ako high-fived with Ayu as they switched. “ _Let’s meet with confidence! My heart will beat so fast when I'm with you._ ” She sang with both hands to her chest and a soft smile on her face.

“ _The horizon’s light is calling - It’s time to get going!_ ” Ayu sang, snapping Ako back to the present. “ _This beat is calling for us!_ ” They both chimed.

“What are you guys doing watching? You should be changing!” Gou scolded, shoving the jackets and shirts in their general direction.

Rin stared at the shirt Gou gave him and cringed. “Why is it pink?” He asked.

“ _To the next day!_ ” Ako and Ayu sang, finally settling into their final pose. “ _Bon Voyage…_ ” They sang as the music softened and the students got up to cheer for them.

While Ako and Ayu were thanking everyone, Gou came back out.

“Thank you so much. This is only a little taste of the swim club’s talent.” She said, motioning for Chigusa to help the two of them off stage and give them their swim club jackets to cover themselves up. “Up next, we have another performance. Our boys won’t let themselves be beaten. Please welcome, Iwatobi’s Male Medley Relay team and their special guest from Samezuka Academy, Captain Matsuoka Rin!”

Ako almost choked on her spit and was saved by Ayu tapping her back until it was clear. By the time she was saved from asphyxiation the boys were lined up in front of them with their backs turned to the audience. In order of left to right stood Nagisa, Makoto, Haru, Rin, and Rei. “Here we go.” Ayu grinned as the lights hit them one by one.

“ _Here’s a splash that can make us free!_ ” Makoto reached his arms over his head and clapped twice, green lights haloing around him.

“ _Basking in the contrast of overlapping rays._ ” Nagisa snapped his fingers twice, hit with pink light.

“ _Let the water wash over you._ ” Rei tapped the tip of his shoe on the ground, indigo light engulfing his frame. “ _Feel so free._ ”

“ _Dive right into our brand new blue._ ” Rin threw a hand in the air, pointing to Haru as red lights came on. “ _Yeah._ ” Haru’s blue joined them and they all turned to face the audience.

“ _True to myself as I-_ ” Nagisa - clad in a pale pink jacket and a shirt with a penguin on it, turned and extended his hands like we was dabbing while making a puppet motion with both hands. “ _Sei, sei, sei! Ah oh!_ ”

“ _My own style is in my-_ ” Makoto turned around, his dark green jacket pulling taut around his muscles as he brought his hands down around the frame of his orca shirt and did a kicking motion with his arms. “ _Kick, kick, kick! Ah oh!_ ”

“ _I just want to seize that-_ ” Rei adjusted his glasses - the girls cringed at the butterfly patterned indigo jacket but let it go - and made an awkward rapper move before paddling like he was doing the breaststroke. “ _Pull, pull, pull! Ah oh!_ ”

“ _It’s just within reach, the-_ ” Haru and Rin pulled off their blue and red hoods and ran a hand through their hair. “ _Deep, deep, deep!_ ” They both whipped their hair and Haru stared at the audience while Rin shot at them with finger guns. “ _Splash free!_ ”

Ako stole some glow sticks from Chigusa’s box and started waving them around. Ayu followed suit, screaming about how amazing her twin was.

“ _Not a day passes that you don’t feel alive._ ” Makoto and Haru stepped forward, back to back.

Rei and Nagisa peeked out from behind them. “ _Wavering._ ” The echoed.

“ _Back and Fill with a Butterfly._ ” They sang, stepping to the side while pretending to do the butterfly stroke.

Rei and Nagisa stepped forward, taking their place. “ _We rack up wins by trial and error._ ” They sang, Makoto and Haru echoing ‘ _in the future_ ’ behind them. “ _But forget about that for now._ ” They winked, splitting up to reveal Makoto and Haru standing behind them.

“ _So take it easy, ah._ ” Makoto and Haru went their separate ways, letting Rin step forward.

Rin pointed to the crowd. “ _Just feel the water…_ ” He sang, his voice vibrating in a way that sent chills up everyone’s spines. ‘ _Slice your fingers through the blue._ ’ The medley team echoed. “ _Let emotion wash over you._ ”

‘ _Quench your long and burning thirst._ ’ They echoed again.

They all lined up. “ _Caught up in the middle of,_ ” They thrust their arms out. “ _This fabled relay._ ” They spun around. “ _Melt your heart and set it free!_ ” Pumping a fist in the air, they all jumped up and separated.

“ _It’s the splash that can make us free! Basking in the contrast of overlapping rays._ _Let the water wash over you._ _Dive right into our brand new blue._ _Yeah._ ” They all sang, pumping up the audience by clapping along with them.

“ _True to myself as I-_ ” Nagisa did his special dance.

“ _Sei, sei, sei! Ah oh!_ ” Chigusa did the same dance, waving yellow glow sticks.

“ _My own style is in my-_ ” Makoto did his kicking motions.

“ _Kick, kick, kick! Ah oh!_ ” Ayu laughed and raised her leg to kick with it.

“ _I just want to seize that-_ ” Rei pretended to do breast stroke.

“ _Pull, pull, pull! Ah oh!_ ” Gou stepped forward and did the scuba man dance instead.

“ _It’s just within reach, the-_ ” Haru and Rin grinned.

“ _Deep, deep, deep!_ ” Haru, Rin, and Ako whipped their hair. “ _Splash free!_ ”

The next day, almost fifty female students tried out for the swim club and Haru rejected every single one of them because they all requested he sing Splash Free for them.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, the future first years of the Samezuka Swim Team collectively shat their pants upon meeting their new Team Captain.

“In order to join our swim club, your time needs to be better than the Samezuka standard. We’ll time you now, so swim using your fastest stroke.” Rin explained, his face passive.

Still, the first years were terrified. “Yes, sir!” They all shouted. Rin tilted his head. It must be the shark teeth. He thought back to the moment Seijuro told him he was to be Captain and sighed.

“Captain?”

Rin snapped to attention, cursing himself for answering to the honorific. “Ai, can you not call me that? Just call me what you did before.” He asked, awkwardly rubbing at his neck. Really, the entire team should know how awkward Rin is by now. Why would any of them claim to have such an awkward Captain? They shouldn’t need to put up with it. Rin wanted to sigh again.

“Sure, I can do that.” Ai nodded. “Anyway, there sure are a lot of people hoping to join this year.” Ai gestured to the three lines of ten currently trying out. There were still other students trying to enter which made their numbers more than thirty.

Rin’s eyes widened. “Which reminds me, Captain Mikoshiba said we’d be getting a really strong new member.” He remembered.

“Do you think he’s one of them?” Ai’s mouth dropped open.

Rin smirked. “You better work hard or you might get surpassed by a first year.” He teased.

“R-Right!” Ai grinned. “Besides, there’s still Ako-san!” He cheered.

“Ako?” Rin squinted down at the younger swimmer. “What about Ako?” He asked.

Ai blinked up at him. “Oh, you guys must not see each other. That’s weird. She’s here every early morning. She used to swim in the ocean you know! But Captain Mikoshiba saw her one time and said she could swim here if she’d give those of us falling behind some pointers. Ayu-senpai, Tachibana-senpai, or Nanase-senpai come to pick her up afterwards sometimes. Ryugazaki-kun picks her up on Wednesdays, she says they have an arrangement.” He explained with a smile. “She’s been very helpful, to be honest.” He praised.

“I must have been out running.” Rin surmised.

“She runs back to Iwatobi after for school.” Ai tapped his cheek with his fingers. “Come to think of it, she must have a lot of energy to burn if she runs here, swims, and then runs back every day.” He shrugged.

Rin laughed. “She’s never had a shortage of energy.” He smiled. “What time did you say she got here?” He asked.

“Oh, about six in the morning. Why do you ask?” Ai raised a brow at him.

Rin shrugged. “No reason.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Swim Club -_

* * *

 

 

“What? You want new members?” Coach Sasabe scratched the top of his head, looking at the eight swimmers all lined up in front of him like they were readying themselves for war. “Just put up good results and they’ll come to you!” He suggested.

“We’d have new members if Haru would stop sending people away.” Gou sighed.

Haru gave her a look that meant he wouldn’t be moved on this subject. “They didn’t want to swim.” He said.

“Rei didn’t want to swim when he first joined!” She countered.

Makoto cut in to diffuse the fight. “What did you want to say to us, Coach Sasabe?” He asked.

Coach Sasabe faced the wall of pictures and started chuckling. “I’m saying I’ll help you put up some good results!” He said, swinging the double doors open to reveal the newly refurbished pool area. “The Iwatobi Swimming Club is back and it’s called… Iwatobi SC Returns!”

“There’s an orca, butterflies, a penguin, and dolphins on the front.” Ako pointed out.

“How sentimental.” Ayu laughed. “Where’s the sea turtle and the porpoise? I’m getting the feeling you like the boys more than us, Coach Sasabe!” She teased.

“I-I’ll remember to have some painted!” He stuttered. The boys rolled their eyes. For some reason, Coach Sasabe was more frightened by Ayu than anyone else in the club. “I got the pool up and running so you could use it before we opened.” He smiled encouragingly.

“Goro-chan, thank you so much!” Nagisa jumped up and clung to Coach Sasabe like a koala.

Chigusa stared at him incredulously. “Goro- _chan_?”

“Nagisa! Don’t jump on him! He might break his back!” Ako ran to the blonde and vainly tried to pry him from Coach Sasabe who yelled about _not being that old, jeez_.

Rei, Gou, Ayu, Chigusa, and Makoto - being the only respectable people left in this club - bowed thankfully.

“Use this to train hard and show us some good results during the public tournament next week!” Coach Sasabe nodded in acceptance, still carrying Nagisa on his back. “And-hey!”

Ako turned around just in time to catch Gou ogling Haru as he stripped all his clothes off and dove into the pool in his swim trunks. “Onii-chan, no fair! You have to give me a head start, girls performances in swimming are only equivalent to the fastest man seventy years before now!” She started ranting as she too carefully got out of her clothes and dove into the water.

Makoto and Ayu both reached out to their respective Nanases to no avail with Ayu suddenly questioning what she knew about girls and guys’ time differences in swimming. “Was that accurate?” She asked.

“Men in the Olympics swim an average of 10 percent faster than women. Although, in recent years, it’s becoming more possible for women to catch up. But, the average remains that the fastest woman now will swim the same average time as the fastest man seventy years ago.” Rei explained. “Though, how Ako would know that without reading the thesis and theories I read is a mystery-”

“It’s called ebooks, Rei.” Ako called out from the edge of the pool. “You’re not the only one who reads.” She winked.

“Send me that thesis, Ako!” Ayu called out, gaining looks from the boys. “What? It sounds interesting and very relevant to me!”

From a corner of the room, a man wearing dark clothes watching Nanase Haruka swim turned his gaze to Tachibana Ayumu and frowned.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Public Tournament -_

* * *

 

 

Rin straightened out the paper with the tournament schedules on it and breathed in, facing the team. “For today’s public tournament, only our new members will participate.” He saw them nod, understandable since he’d already explained this to them. But, it didn’t hurt to remind them.

“Rin-chan!” Nagisa yelled from across the field, causing all the new Samezuka swimmers to turn and stare at him.

“Nagisa! Rin’s in the middle of something, don’t just yell at him like that!” Ako scolded.

Rin was torn between smiling and groaning in pain but neither would look very Captainly so he remained neutral. “In short, I want inexperienced members to get a better feel for competitions here. That’s all.” He dismissed his team and walked with them into the pool area. He might want to say hi to the Iwatobi Team but he had responsibilities now.

He could exchange hellos later.

When he reached the lockers he heard a familiar set of grunts and hid behind one of the rows, letting his team settle in the bleachers.

A familiar raven haired boy walked past him. “Trying to ambush me here, Rin?” He asked.

Rin stepped forward and walked with him, keeping to Haru’s slower pace. “I’ve been waiting for you, Haru.” He grinned.

Haru raised a brow at him. “You might be saying that to the wrong Nanase.” He bit back a smirk of his own when Rin’s face became bright red.

“I’m not racing Ako. I’m racing you.” He grumbled irritably.

“You might as well be, I’ve been training with her all winter.” Haru thought fondly of those hellish days getting up at the same time as Ako and doing her routines with her, doing routines she came up with for him, taking Makoto and Ayu along with them and then doing her routines with just Makoto while she trained at Samezuka.

Rin smiled. “I don’t need to give you a handicap, then. Looks like you’ve been pretty fired up.” Rin reached up to snap the back of his goggles as usual. “Let’s see the fruits of all your-”

A pair of boys ran past them shouting about how they were going to beat each other with a little girl running behind them. “Just you both wait, I’ll beat both of you!” She shouted, shaking her fist in the air.

“Hah! You wish, Akane!” The boys shouted and the girl chased them all the way to the pool.

Both boys laughed and set off to take their marks. 

> 1  Nanase Haruka
> 
> 1  Matsuoka Rin

“They tied.” Ayu whispered.

Ako bit her lip hard and stood up, stepping on the railings. “Just you both wait! I’m going to swim the female’s freestyle and I’m going to beat the tournament record and you both can just eat my spray at the Olympics!” She shouted, shaking her fist in the air.

“B-But, Ako! What about the 10 percent gap-” Ayu said, trying to calm the girl down so that the spectators would stop staring at her.

“I’m going to close the gap.” She turned around, grinning at Ayu. “I’m going to close the gap, I will. Then we can all swim together in a relay and I can prove to them that we can be faster than them.” She nodded.

Ayu stared at her confusedly for a while before grinning back at her. “Looks like you’ve found your dream, Ako-chan.”

Ako gasped. “Looks like I have.” She laughed.

Rin and Haru looked up at her, shaking their heads.

“You better watch your back, Rin.” Haru teased.

Rin pulled himself out of the pool and retrieved his jacket before looking back at Ako over his shoulder. “I will. Believe me, I’ll be watching.” He smirked.

-

“You guys…” Gou covered her mouth with both of her hands. “Are monsters.”

Rei reached up to fix his glasses. “I can’t believe Ako was 0.09 seconds behind Haruka-senpai and Rin-senpai.” He said incredulously but the proud smile on his face remained.

“All of you did a wonderful job.” Miss Amakata praised.

While Amakata and Coach Sasabe chatted, the Iwatobi team spotted Samezuka passing by and shared a conspiring look before shoving Ako in Rin’s direction.

“Why is it always me? It was Mako’s idea!” Ako said in a hushed tone.

“Because he loves you most out of all of us!” Nagisa retorted, pushing her again.

“You know Gou is his little sister!” She protested.

“Like he said,” Gou nodded. “He loves you most out of all of us. Now, go Ako-chan!” She shouted, shoving her hard until she basically crashed into Ai.

Ai managed to stop her before she could and apologized profusely.

“You don’t need to apologize, Ai. I mean, I bumped into you-” Ako explained, hurriedly grabbing Rin by the arm to get this over with. “I need to borrow your Captain for a bit if that’s okay?” She asked.

The first years all stared at their Captain, at Ako, and then back at their Captain with a smirk. “We’ll go ahead, Captain. Please take your time!” They all said, bowing to Ako before walking away, dragging Ai with them.

“What’s up, Ako?” He asked, turning to face the younger Nanase.

Ako curled her fingers together in front of her, her mind going blank once she was standing face to face with him. “Haru needs to talk to you about something, you know how he is.” She shrugged. “We’ll be at Iwatobi later so you should swing by and visit.”

“What does he want to talk about?” He asked. “Does he want to settle our tie?” He grinned.

Ako rolled her eyes at his behavior. “Behave. You’ll know when you see it.” She said, nearly biting her tongue off when she realized she’d almost let the cat out of the bag. Really, they should have sent Gou.

“I’ll know what when I see it?” He raised a brow at her.

Ako panicked and did the only thing she could think of to shut him up. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “You’ll see.” She muttered into his ear and ran off to mask her reddened face.

“What am I doing with my life?” She groaned when she and Ayu were walking to the club room that afternoon.

Ayu pat her on the back. “You did well, Ako-chan. I’m very proud of you for landing that smacker on the face of the love of your life. You should have seen his face!” She snickered.

“His face? _His_ face? I’m pretty sure mine was a tomato at some point.” She facepalmed. “I don’t want to be there for this whole Sakura Pool thing. I don’t want to see him.”

“Really?” Ayu asked. “Do you really not want to see him?” She gave her a knowing look.

Ako glared at her before giving in. “Of course, I want to see him. This is his _Sakura Pool_. It’s going to be great.” She said, pushing bravely through the club room and into the pool area.

Ayu followed behind her with a grin. “That’s our girl.”

“Grab him!” Screamed a voice that sounded suspiciously like Nagisa from inside the club room. “Kikiiiiiii!” A pair of strange strangled male voices - one was Makoto but the girls couldn’t figure out the other voice from how high pitched it sounded - followed after it and Rin was shamelessly dragged towards the pool filled with Sakura with a paper mache Iwatobi head obscuring his vision.

Haru then ran past them, muttering. “Come along quietly.”

“Haru-chan! The sentence ender.” Nagisa whined.

Haru nodded and tried again. “Come along quietly, moge.”

“Don’t you moge me! Let me go!” Rin protested, kicking and shouting.

Gou chased after them, fake concerned for her older brother. “Oh no! Don’t take my brother away!” She shouted dramatically.

“Gou? You’re here too?!” Rin yelled.

Ayu rolled her eyes. Honestly, of course she was here. She’s part of the club.

“Rin, stop kicking!” Makoto frowned, shaking the leg that Rin managed to kick pretty hard.

The group of highschoolers finally stopped in front of Ako and Ayu, letting Rin stand up on his own two feet. “Will you guys give it a-” The paper mache Iwatobi mask was ripped off and Rin blinked so that his eyes would adjust to the glare of the sun.

The look on Rin’s face as he stared at the pool of Sakura blossoms was worth everything they had to go through last school year and more. It almost made Ako want to cry. Ayu wrapped an arm around her, pulling the younger girl to her side.

“When we were in grade school, you once said you wanted to swim in a pool of cherry blossoms.” Haru said, still holding the Iwatobi mask. “We wanted to open the pool early for new members.” Makoto explained. “Thanks to Ama-chan’s hard work!” Nagisa chimed. “Though it still resulted in zero new members.” Rei added.

“But, since we got to see our pool of cherry blossoms as a result, we wanted to show it to you too.” Makoto said, smiling.

Rin stared at them in awe. “You guys…” His face scrunched up and he turned so no one would see him tear up. Except, Gou and the girls were standing there so he had no choice but to cover his face with his hands while the girls cooed at him.

“Rin-san, go for it.” Rei said encouragingly.

When Rin turned back around, the boys gestured to the pool together. “Go for it.” Makoto, Rei, and Nagisa insisted. “I guess I’ll let you swim in it just this once.” Haru added as an aside.

“Well, I do want to swim in it but it’s still kinda cold.” Rin said, frowning.

Gou started hopping up and down excitedly. “Onii-chan! Take that stuff off!” She said, raising her camera up to take pictures of his muscles no doubt.

“Gou!” Rin protested.

“Come on, do it for Ako-chan!” Gou wiggled her eyebrows at him and pulled Ako to her side.

Ako stuttered. “Wh-Why for me?” Her face scrunched up in embarrassment.

Just then, Rei and Nagisa started pushing Rin to the pool fully clothed. “No need to hold back!” Nagisa encouraged, ignoring Rin’s protests. “He’s right! You don’t have to be bashful!” Rei insisted while they both pushed Rin closer to the pool.

“I’m not being bashful!” Rin turned to shout at Nagisa. “Hey, seriously, stop it-”

Rin stopped speaking as rain began to fall and disperse the cherry blossoms.

“Well, what pointless argument.” Ako sighed and turned to look at her brother. “Onii-chan, shall we?” She grinned, reaching down to pull her uniform off.

Rei reached up to cover Rin’s eyes. “Ako!” He shouted.

Haru returned his sister’s grin and they both stripped, stepping up to the starting block.

“Haru!” Makoto reached forward. “Ako!” Ayu lunged with him and one of them was able to hold their Nanase back but not for long.

Ako managed to get into the water first and Makoto holding Haru back gave Ako a head start. By the time Ako reached the turn, Haru was only halfway to the end of the pool. Haru’s eyes narrowed on his sister’s figure and he kicked with everything he had until he was neck and neck with Ako reaching towards the wall.

Haru surfaced and frowned at his sister. “You had a head start.”

“Because I ran faster than you.” Ako laughed.

Haru’s frown turned into a small smile as he reached over and pulled his little sister into his arms and dove into the water.

“Haru! Let go of her!” Ayu sighed. “You’re going to drown her.”

Ako surfaced screaming. “Haru, stop! Okay! Okay, you win! You win! Let go!” She shouted, sounding absolutely hysterical.

“It’s too late.” Haru sucked in a big breath and they both went under again to Ako’s shouts of _“Haru!”_.

Makoto frowned. “They’re going to get sick.”

“They’ll be fine.” Nagisa said, reaching down to strip. “I’m going to join in!” He yelled, reaching out to grab Rei by the arm. “Come on, Rei-chan! Let's join!” He invited but before Rei could protest Nagisa managed to pull him down into the water with him.

“You’re all going to get sick!” Ayu groaned. “I’m going to get towels.”

Rin, unable to figure out what to do about the Iwatobi swimmers all swimming in spite of the rain, took shelter under the awning near the edge of the pool. Ako seemed to notice his mood and as soon as Haru deigned to let her go, she swam over to him and leaned over the edge of the pool.

“What are you angsting about this time?” She asked.

Rin tilted his head at her, squating so Ako didn’t have to look up so high. “I don’t angst.”

“Are you serious? You’re the king of angst. Ikuya is the prince.” She snickered but stopped when the confused look on Rin’s face persisted. “What’s the problem, Rin?”

Rin bit his lip and stared into her eyes, he realized that trusted her. “What are Makoto and Haru doing after graduation?” He asked.

Ako blinked several times. “I don’t think they’ve thought of it. They’re pretty short-term thinkers.” She answered. “And Haru doesn’t think about the future besides swimming, you know that.”

Rin sighed. “Yeah, I know.” He nodded, disappointed.

“Don’t worry too much about them, they’ll figure something out. Meanwhile, you’ll make it to Nationals and impress everyone by breaking records and getting scouted.” Ako cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

Rin still looked troubled but the pep talk with Ako did make him feel a bit better. “You’re aiming for the international stage too, right?” He grinned. “I guess it’s you and me.”

Ako’s eyes widened and she smiled.

It feels like she waited her whole life to hear Rin say those words to her and now that she’s heard it, she has no idea what to say. “The world isn’t going to know what hit them.” She replied.

And when Rin bursts out into a laugh she thanks whatever deity is out there that she said the right thing.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

  

“I can’t believe it, that idiot really did catch a cold.” Rin stared down at his phone.

 

> _Ako can’t make it to Samezuka today, she’s caught a cold. It’s not too serious but she can’t swim today. She’s pouting at me. - Ayu (Ako gave me your cell #)_

“The others didn’t even catch it.” He muttered, pocketing his phone and staring out the window. Ai and the first years were upset, the new guys hadn’t met Ako yet but from the things Ai and the rest have told them, they thought she was great.

There was also the rumor that she’s Rin’s girlfriend but that wasn’t relevant. They were all bummed about her cold and hoped she would get better soon.

The teacher opened the door and settled his things on the table. Rin put his stuff aside, pulling his notebook out along with a pen. “Take your seats. Today, I’d like to introduce a new transfer student.” The teacher announced.

Rin’s eyes widened and he fumbled to get his phone out.

“This is Yamazaki Sousuke-kun who is transferring here from Tokyo.”

He typed quickly and sent the message as soon as he could.

> **Sou is here. - Rin**

“Please, make him feel welcome, class.” The teacher said, writing Sousuke’s name on the board.

Rin’s phone vibrated.

> _Are you sure??? - Ayu_

Rin grunted but texted back.

> **He’s standing in front of my class. He’s _in_ my class. - Rin**

Sousuke’s teal eyes scanned the classroom and stopped when he saw Rin, smirking.

Ayu replied.

> _… shit. - Ayu_

He knew the feeling. “Sousuke?”


	13. Episode 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make us free na SPLASHU FES!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode Solo Lyrics from Odii's cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KbNa3kcfCE

**EPISODE 2**

\-  _ Iwatobi, Middle School  _ -

* * *

 

 

“Sousuke?” Ayu blinked at the boy as he stepped down from the bench. She looked up where Haru was sitting. Had he come to pick a fight with Haru again? She shook her head and pushed Ako so she was standing behind her. “Why are you here?” She asked.

Sousuke stared at her and then moved his gaze to the younger girl clinging to Ayu’s jacket. “Who is this?” He asked in return.

“I asked first.” Ayu frowned.

“Ayu-chan, can I go to Onii-chan, now?” Ako chirped, walking until she stood in front of Sousuke who was hilariously taller than her. “Ayu called you Sousuke. That’s the name of her’s and Rin’s friend from Sano!” She smiled up at the stoic boy. “I’m Nanase Akio. But, call me Ako.” She introduced herself, holding a hand out to shake his.

Sousuke stared down at her in confusion. “A girl.”

“Do I look like a boy?” Ako asked, her hands going up to pull at her short hair. “I shouldn’t have gotten this haircut, I really do look like a boy.” She sighed.

The frantic look on Sousuke’s face almost made Ayu cackle.

“It’s your name. Rin mentioned it and I thought you were a boy.” He explained.

At the mention of Rin, Ako’s mood brightened considerably. “Thank you, Sou-chan, for being such a great friend to Rin.” She said, extending her hand to Sousuke one more time.

This time, Sousuke took it and shook it seriously, his mouth falling open when Ako pulled him closer so she could wrap her arms around his waist.

“I prefer hugs.” Ako said simply when she finally let go. “I have to go to my brother now, I’ll see you around, Sou-chan.” She waved and then sprinted up to Haru to give him a hug.

Sousuke ran a hand through his hair. “So, that’s the...  _ girl _ Rin always talked about.”

“You thought she was a boy.” Ayu snickered. “I bet it’s clear why he talked about her now.” She crossed her arms and they both watched Ako tell Haru all sorts of jokes to make the normally placid boy smile.

“A crush.” Sousuke shook his head and smiled softly. “I’ll never let him live it down.”

“And he’ll never let you forget that you thought Ako was a boy.” Ayu joked before sliding closer to Sousuke. “Are we cool, then?” She asked, lifting her fist.

Sousuke bumped his fist to hers. “We’re cool.” They were silent for a long time until Sousuke cleared his throat. “Rin and her are perfect for each other. She’s just as energetic.” He commented.

Ayu grinned. “Oh, Sou. You have no idea how long I’ve been trying to say that.” She laughed.

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy _ -

* * *

 

 

Rin and Sousuke sat on the edge of the stone partitions surrounding the hedges. After a seriously dorky reunion that began with the both of them performing their secret handshake  _ of death _  they both took a seat and started chatting amicably. Five years was a lot to catch up on.

“So, what brings you to Samezuka? Weren’t you already going to a school in Tokyo with a strong swim team?” Rin asked, leaning back.

Sousuke shrugged. “I have my reasons.”

“What are you being so vague for? That’s not like you.” Rin frowned.

Sousuke rolled his eyes at Rin’s dramatics. “I just thought I’d spend my last year as a high school swimmer in my hometown enjoying it in my own way since I already know where I’ll be going after high school.” He hung his head.

“Wait a minute!” Rin shot up. “You’re not going to quit swimming are you?” He asked, sounding distressed.

Sousuke’s look of defeat turned into smugness as Rin fell for his trick. “I got scouted.” He smirked.

Rin stared at him, dumbfounded, before kicking his legs playfully. “Damn, man. That’s awesome.” He laughed. “I can’t believe you tricked me.” Rin sighed, sitting back down.

“Sure, how’s Ako?” Sousuke huffed out a laugh when Rin’s posture stiffened. “Last time I saw her she was short and had short hair.” He squinted, trying to see what Rin’s reaction would be.

Rin laughed again, but he seemed happier now than when Sousuke announced that he was scouted. “She’s still short with short hair.” He rolled his eyes. “But, she’s fast now. I mean, really fast.” He praised.

“What else is new?” Sousuke rolled his eyes too. “You used to say she was fast too. Just less like a love struck puppy.”

Rin gave him a look. “I’m not a love struck puppy.” He said flatly.

“Spoken like a love struck puppy.” Sousuke teased. “I’d like to swing by Iwatobi-”

“You don’t have to, she swings by here every day. She coaches the younger guys in their morning routines.” Rin interjected, not wanting Sousuke to ambush Ayu just yet. Ako might handle it well enough but… Ayu was different with Sousuke. He’d give her time to collect herself. “But, Ayu said she was sick so she might not be around this week.”

“Ayumu?” Sousuke raised a brow at Rin. “It’s been a long time.”

“You guys should catch up.” Rin smirked. “She’d love it.”

Sousuke looked up at the sky, lost in thought. “Maybe we will.”

 

* * *

_ \- Iwatobi, Nanase House - _

* * *

 

 

Ako stared down at the paper, wondering what she was supposed to do about her older brother not knowing his purpose in life besides being  _ free _ . “Haru…” She buried herself back into her sheets and sneezed.

“Someone’s talking about me.” She muttered.

Ako’s alarm went off and she pushed herself out of bed, pulling her duffle bag over her shoulder and tying her running shoes on. “I should be fine, it’s not that bad as far as colds go.” She said quietly to herself, putting on a jacket and quietly opening the door. She had to get up even earlier now so that she wouldn’t run into Haru and Makoto but it was fine. She ended up getting to Samezuka just as the sun came up.

“Good morning everyone!” She greeted, ducking her head down when a sneeze threatened to come out. “Sorry, I’m still healing a bit.” She said sheepishly.

Ai climbed out of the pool to greet her. “Ako-san! Rin-senpai is still running.” He informed.

“Of course he is.” Ako laughed and set her stuff down. “I see you guys have lots of newbies.” She waved at the first years lapping in the pool. At the very end, she spotted a familiar head of dark hair and grinned. “Sou-chan!” She ran to the end of the pool and leaned forward.

Sousuke looked up at the younger Nanase and smiled. “You look good.” He nodded approvingly. “You still do your routine?” He asked.

“Every day.” She winked.

“The new guys heard all about your achievements, Ako-san.” Ai smiled, pleased at the interaction. Ako had a feeling he didn’t have many friends outside of Rin.

“My achievements?” Ako laughed. “How about mister Top 10 of Japan’s butterfly swimmers, here? They must have fainted when they met you, Sou.” She praised.

Sousuke raised a brow at her. “Want to test me, Nanase?” He asked.

Ako reached back to take her jacket off and hand it to Ai. “Are we swimming butterfly?” She asked, putting her duffle bag down and stretching. From the corner of her eye, she saw the first years getting out of the pool to watch.

“We can swim freestyle, if you want.” He shrugged, getting out so he can position himself at the starting block.

Ako took her place next to Sousuke. “You offered.” She snapped her goggles on. “Call it, Ai.”

Ai hesitated. “Maybe we should wait for Rin-senpai-”

“Call it.” Sousuke nodded.

Ai swallowed, hoping Rin wouldn’t kill him for this. “On your marks, set-” He put his fingers to his lips and whistled as loud as he could.

Ako and Sou dove into the water, both of them coming up halfway through the first 50 meters to paddle. Sousuke’s stroke length was longer than Ako’s due to the length of his arms but Ako was light and buoyant and quick so she put up an admirable fight.

“That’s the Captain’s girlfriend?” One of the first years asked, the group of newbies staring and gasping at the competition.

Ai laughed awkwardly, not knowing how to answer that.

“Nanase’s kick was strong!”

Ai turned back to find Ako gaining on Sousuke. It looked like her stamina might outlast him and Sousuke’s stroke frequencies were becoming suspiciously slower. Ai stared hard at them but before he could get to the bottom of it Sousuke touched the edge of the pool with Ako on his tail.

Ako sighed, pulling off her swim cap. “I lost.”

“Rin was right.” Sousuke reached out and placed a heavy hand on Ako’s head. “You’re fast, Nanase.” He ruffled her hair, smirking when her laughter drew out familiar footsteps on the linoleum floors. “Speaking of Rin…”

“Ako?!” Rin peered down at them, frowning. “You shouldn’t be here- You shouldn’t be swimming, you’re sick!” He shook his head, leaving for a bit to pick up Ako’s duffle bag. “Where’s your towel?” He asked.

“It’s not with my clothes, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s in the side pocket.” She answered, turning to Ai. “A little help here, Ai-”

Ako was interrupted by Rin’s hand. “Come out of there, you need to get dry or you’ll get worse.” He said, waving his hand around in front of her.

Ako nodded numbly and took his hand, letting him pull her out of the pool.

Rin threw Ako’s towel around her and clicked his tongue. “Really, what do I do with you?” He shook his head, pulling a smaller towel - the Shark one - from his pocket and drying her hair with it.

“You could kiss her better.” Sousuke suggested, getting out of the pool himself.

Rin glared at him. “I’m not forgetting the fact that you encouraged this behaviour.” Rin scowled, withdrawing his towel from her head when he was satisfied by how dry she was. Thank God she had short hair. “Is someone picking you up today?” He asked.

Ako sneezed, pulling on her Iwatobi jacket. “No. It’s tuesday.” She said.

Sousuke frowned, poking her arm. “Your jacket is damp.” He motioned for her to take it off and draped his own Samezuka jacket around her, ignoring the frown Rin was sporting.

“Thanks, Sou-chan. I’ll give it back tomorrow.” She nodded, determined. The sleeves were way too long on her and went past her hands.

“Don’t. I have four more.” He insisted. “I remember you and Ayu like jackets.”

Ako beamed at him. “Thanks!”

“I’ll take you home.” Rin interjected, swinging Ako’s duffle bag over his shoulder. “I’ll tell Ayu you’re skipping school today.” He said, pulling out his phone.

Ako reached out to hold his arm but because Rin moved too fast she ended up holding his hand. “I still need to talk to Ai about his 200 meter free! And Nakagawa asked for tips for his 200 meter butterfly-” She said, her speech becoming faster and more stuttery as she went on.

“It can wait until you’re better.” Rin said, leading her out of the pool area. “Sou’s in charge.” He called out to the remaining swim team members before disappearing out the door with Ako.

Sousuke smirked. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Rin.”

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Swim Club _ -

* * *

 

 

Ayu stared at the Splash Fest sign and laughed. “You spelled it wrong.” The sign said Splashu Fes instead of Splash Fest. She turned to show Ako but remembered that she was taking the day off because Rin forced her to even though she was only sneezing at this point.

“What kind of event is it?” Gou asked, the boys gathering around to look at the sign.

Coach Sasabe grinned proudly. “I’m planning all kinds of fun stuff. There’s going to be a kickboard race that even kids who can’t swim can join, a how far can you swim without taking a breath water race, and finally the Armored Sidestroke!” He enumerated excitedly.

Nagisa took a moment to explain the Armored Sidestroke to Rei.

“I still can’t think of a good main event, though.” Coach Sasabe sighed.

Ayu’s eyes sparkled and she stared up at him. “A concert!” She cooed. “Ako will be fine by then, we can put on a show and so can the guys!” She said.

“Oh! Good idea, Ayu-chan!” Gou snickered, high-fiving the older girl. “But, it’s not really related to swimming.” She digressed.

“What about a relay?” Haru piped up from behind everyone.

Everyone turned around and smiled widely at him.

“Wait!” Ayu raised a hand in the air. “Doesn’t that mean you guys would need opponents?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Gou gasped.

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Nanase House _ -

* * *

 

 

“Why did you have to make this call with me in the room?” Ako asked, a thick blanket wrapped around her while she coughed weakly.

Gou waited for the contact to pick up and put her phone on speaker.

“Gou?” Rin’s voice emitted loudly from her phone.

“Onii-chan. We need you guys to do us a favor and swim a relay against us for the Splash Fest!” Gou said really quickly, Ako doubted she even stopped to breathe.

Rin hummed in confusion. “Splash Fest?”

Ako sneezed loudly. “Excuse me.” She muttered.

“Ako? What are you doing at my house? You’re supposed to be resting.” He scolded.

Gou giggled and Ako gave her a look. “I’m not. I’m at my house. Gou and everyone came over. They said they couldn’t call you unless I was with them.” She sighed. “Don’t ask.” She rolled her eyes.

Rin sighed. “So you’re saying you want us to be your opponents?” He asked.

“You think you could?” Makoto asked shyly.

“You guys…” Rin groaned.

Gou took the phone and yelled into it. “Don’t make me use my secret weapon.” She said, looking pointedly at Ako who realized belatedly what they needed her for and shook her head.

“Oh yeah? What secret weapon, Gou? Your collection of candid muscle pictures?” He snarked.

Gou pleaded to Ako with her eyes and Ako took the phone with a sigh.

Ako took a deep breath and in the sweetest tone she could, pleaded. “Onegai!”

The phone was silent for a long time until Rin started cursing.

“Alright! Alright! You win!”

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy _ -

* * *

 

 

“Honestly!” Rin complained, carefully arranging his food. “How carefree could those guys be? They can’t always use Ako to try and persuade me last minute.” He sighed.

Sousuke brought the miso up to his mouth and sipped it. “You complain but they’re right in getting her. You can never say no to her or to them.” He smirked.

Rin bit angrily at his food. “Who’s going to swim with me? It’s not an official event so it’s not like I can approach the team with it.” He asked.

“What? The team wouldn’t do it for Nanase?” He teased.

It was highly likely. The team liked Rin but they loved Ako. The same could be said of Ayumu and the girls of Iwatobi. For some reason, the lack of a girls’ swim team made the Samezuka team adopt Iwatobi’s girls as their girls swim team. So, if their pride in having Rin as their Captain wasn’t enough, they could always use the girls as leverage.

Something about offering Ayu as leverage made Sousuke’s heart constrict in his chest. No. He’s not doing that.

“Forget that. I don’t mind doing it…” Sousuke volunteered. “As long as you let me swim the freestyle leg.”

Rin raised a brow at him suspiciously. “Isn’t butterfly your specialty?” He asked.

“I just feel like swimming freestyle.” He shrugged. “I bet that Nitori kid would want to join too. Him and Nakagawa, Nanase was giving him tips for his butterfly.”

Rin tilted his head. “Really?”

 

* * *

\-  _ Splashu Fes _ -

* * *

 

 

“Mikoshiba!”

Rin has never in his life imagined he’d be this relieved to hear that name. After Nakagawa bailed on them due to bad grades on a test, it was beginning to look hopeless. Sousuke technically could swim backstroke and then swim freestyle after Rin but Rin was above all else a perfectionist. If he was going to do a relay he’d do it right.

And then, a younger boy, definitely not Seijuro, ran past them.

“Hey, I’ve only ever known one person with the surname Mikoshiba.” Rin stared at the orange haired boy through slitted eyes.

Ai stared at Mikoshiba too. “What a coincidence, it’s the same for me.” He nodded.

Rin sprinted forward and smoothly grabbed the ginger by the arm. “Hold it right there!” He shouted, pulling the first year back.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?” He frowned at Rin and Ai.

“Are you by any chance Mikoshiba Seijuro’s brother?” Rin asked, straight and to the point.

“What?” Mikoshiba scratched the back of his head irritably. “You know my older brother?” He asked.

Ai surged forward. “Then you can swim backstroke, right?” He asked.

“Of course I can! It’s my specialty. I won lots of races in middle school.” Mikoshiba informed in the way that child geniuses said they were geniuses. “They call me the Sea of Japan’s… sea otter!” He exclaimed, tapping his belly like an otter.

“This must be the guy the Captain was talking about.” Rin said. “It wasn’t Sousuke.”

Mikoshiba sighed. “My brother’s always saying whatever the heck he wants. I told him over and over that I’m not joining the swim team.” He smiled. “Anyway, gotto go! Time to pick up chicks.” He cooed, skipping away.

Rin grabbed him by the neck.

“What now? I’m not joining the swim club! Girls don’t like guys on the swim club!” He pouted.

Rin thought it over and cursed internally. “I’m not asking you to join the swim club.” He grinned, mentally apologizing to Gou. “I’ll take you some place great. You want girls to like you, right?”

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, SC Returns _ -

* * *

 

 

“Stop it!”

The members of the Iwatobi Swim Club turned around only to find Rin man handling a younger man into the building.

“I don’t even want to know.” Ayu sighed.

The freshman thrashed in Rin’s arms. “You said you’re taking me to a place with lots of cute girls!” He shouted.

“Wow, now I really don’t want to know.” Chigusa chimed in, Gou nodded next to her.

Rin wanted to scream. “Quit whining! There are plenty here! See! Cute girls.” He gestured to the little girls taking part in the kickboard race.

“I’ve been tricked, Nii-chan!” The younger Mikoshiba cried out.

“Where’d Sousuke go, anyway?” Rin asked, turning to Ai.

“He was just here.” Ai frowned, looking around for their missing member.

“Damn, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.” He grunted, smacking the freshman on the head a little. “Quit flailing!” He sighed.

“Let go of me! I’m going home! I’m going-” Mikoshiba whined.

“You’re late!” Gou shouted, running towards Rin. “Onii-chan!” She yelled.

The look in his eyes as Gou approached them made Ayu throw her hands up in despair. “Not another one!” She groaned as if pained. “It’s a Mikoshiba. That’s the look of a Mikoshiba looking at a cute girl.” She explained.

“Sousuke-kun!”

Sousuke chatted amicably with Gou but his eyes were on Ayu. When he finally approached her they stared at each other awkwardly. “Hi Sousuke. It’s been a while.” Ayu greeted, holding herself well.

Ako moved away to stand next to Gou. “Is there something I’m missing?” The younger Matsuoka asked.

“There’s history there.” She informed.

Rin reached around the both of them and pulled them both towards him in a semi-hug. “We’ll catch you guys later, then?” He said more to the boys than to Gou and Ako. “Let’s go.” He nodded to his team and started walking away.

Mikoshiba doubled back, leaning closely towards Gou. “I’m Mikoshiba Momotarou. My hobby is hunting for stag beetles-” He said, digging around in his pocket and presenting a beetle to Gou proudly. “This is for you!” He grinned.

Gou screamed, edging away from the bug.

Ako, on the other hand, leaned forward and wrapped her hands gently around the jar. “He’s got red antlers! He’s really rare!” She cooed. “Kawaii.”

Momotarou gasped. “Bug buddies.” His eyes sparkled.

Rin came back and gripped Momotarou’s head with one hand. “Get a move on!”

Haru’s blue eyes stayed on Sousuke up until he disappeared around the corner.

Samezuka wasn’t going to win, not today. Definitely not when Haru was racing against Yamazaki Sousuke.

-

Tachibana Ayumu couldn’t help but feel smug that Haru beat Sousuke. “You ready, Ako?” She asked, pulling on the white sleeves to complete her outfit. They were all wearing marine themed dresses or sets.

“Ready when you are! Gou-chan?”

The red haired girl nodded, taking Chigusa’s hand. All together, they walked onto the stage and stood in a semi-line, with Ako and Gou slightly in the front.

“ _ The outro fades and goes away.”  _ Ako and Ayu began, leaning slightly to the right.

“ _ The intro comes and flows right in today.”  _ Gou and Chigusa continued, starting to dance with more complicated movements, putting one palm on the other and then switching.

_"_ _Now let the music play.“_ They all sang together, dancing around the stage.

A few minutes later, the song was over and the crowd was going crazy. Something about cute girls singing really made them happy.

Ako had tried to get Haru and the others to do a repeat of the club introduction from a few days ago, but they respectfully declined, predicting they’d be a bit too tired from their races.

And with that, the eventful first day of Iwatobi Swim Club Returns came to a happy end.


	14. Episode 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei learns how to swim, take 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ako is singing Yozora Wa Nandemo Shiteru No by CYaRon!

**EPISODE 3**

_\- Iwatobi, High School -_

* * *

 

 

“The time has come at last for Iwatobi’s fabled club versus club relay race!”

Ayu cringed. “I can’t believe we are doing this in our swimsuits!” She grimaced, trying to cover her skin with her hands. On their team, Ayu and Ako replaced Haru and Nagisa, both boys weren’t too great at running (especially Haru) so the team decided to tag in the two girls for their superior leg prowess.

Nagisa also said something about guys being distracted by hers and Ako’s legs but Ayu will stick to the leg prowess explanation!

And so, the logical arrangement would be Makoto in first followed by Ayu. They’d be most in-sync when passing compared to Ako and Makoto because Ako was short. Ayu would pass it to Ako. They were practically psychic so no problems there. The last would be Ako to Rei, both were close friends and ran together every wednesday and with Rei on the team the race was in the bag.

As soon as the whistle blew, Makoto ran like the wind with long strides and passed the kickboard effortlessly to his sister. “Ayu!” He called out.

Ayu was ready. “I’ve got it!” She shouted, smoothly running past the basketball team and passing the kickboard to Ako who started running while they passed to each other so that they’d get the lead.

“Those parkour books I borrowed from Rei are useful after all!” She cheered, spotting Rei calculating her speed and their transition no doubt. With one last spurt of energy, she passed the kickboard to Rei and fell from exhaustion like a true parkour runner. “Ike, Rei!”

Rei looked comfortable here, running like a professional. Ako was so engrossed that she couldn’t stop staring until the announcer screamed that the Swim Team won.

“Rei! That was beautiful!” Ako cheered. “We’re really lucky to have stolen you from track!” She gushed, still inspired by Rei’s performance.

Rei nodded in thanks. “I just hope it was helpful to the swim club.”

The heartbreaking truth of it was that they were a swim club, therefore even though they might have been impressed by Rei, no one would join a swim club on the basis of running prowess.

“The good news is…” Makoto threw the doors open. “The pool is officially open!”

Haru and Ako stared at the pool from their place lined up in front of Makoto. “Let’s shift gears and focus on training for prefecturals. Everyone make sure to warm up thoroughly.” At the mention of warm ups, Ako started stretching her limbs. “The water’s still pretty cold. And though there’s still some time before we have to submit our tournament entry…”

Makoto caught Haru’s hand before he could jump into the pool.

“Aside for our individual events there’s still…” He reached out, catching Ako with his other hand.

The Nanase siblings struggled against Makoto’s grasp to no avail.

“The medley relay!” cheered Nagisa, Gou, Rei, Ayu, and Chigusa.

“That’s settled, then. We have time to think about our individual events. As for me…” Makoto stopped for a while. “Since it’s my last year, I think I’ll try freestyle too.” Ako and Haru turned around and stared at Makoto’s back.

Ako bit her lip and looked at Haru. This behavior was way too reminiscent of her own… but with Rin. Was Makoto becoming that desperate?

“Hey, Rei-chan. Why don’t you try entering the breaststroke!” Nagisa suggested.

“Forget that!” Rei adjusted his glasses and pointedly looked away from Nagisa’s pleading gaze. “I still can’t swim anything other than butterfly!” He insisted.

Nagisa rubbed his head against Rei’s shoulder. “Don’t say that! You’re not the same Rei-chan you used to be! I bet at this point you could swim any stroke you wanted!” He reasoned.

“I bet your backstroke would be beautiful, Rei.” Makoto encouraged.

Already, Ako had a feeling this was a bad idea.

By the time the sun set, Rei completed none of the other strokes proving Ako right. It was a terrible idea. And everyone just felt bad.

“Rei… you don’t have to force yourself to swim something different. As long as you have one swimming style of your own, that’s enough, isn’t it?” Haru said.

But, watching Rei made Ako feel like for the first time that piece of advice wasn’t enough for Rei. Luckily for her, it was wednesday.

“I know you’re tired, Rei-chan.” Ako started before taking his hand and smiling. “But, I have a solution to your problem!” She said, starting to jog. “Let’s run, Rei-chan.”

Rei stared at her for a moment before smiling. “Right.”

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

Rei and Ako stood outside the indoor swimming pool, Ako’s fists on her waist as she entered the pool area. “Hey guys! Hope it’s cool, I brought a friend!” Ako’s greeting was met with cheers from the team.

Ako set her stuff down on one of the benches off to the side and pulled out a towel. “Come on, this way.” She beckoned for Rei to follow her and started walking to the other end of the pool where Sousuke and Rin were poring over tournament applications. “Hey Sou-chan.” She waved.

Sousuke smiled at her and waved, moving away to give her time with Rin.

“Ako.” Rin grinned, his eyes widening when he saw Rei. “Oh, it’s wednesday, huh?” He stepped back from the pile of application forms and held a hand out to Rei. “It’s nice to see you away from the team for once.” He shook Rei’s hand firmly.

Rei nodded. “It’s nice to see you too, Rin-san.”

Ako rolled her eyes. “Rin, me and everyone at Iwatobi have tried teaching Rei other strokes but the only one he can do is butterfly.” She said bluntly. “It’s beginning to grate on Rei so I thought you’re a butterfly specialist maybe you can approach this from a different angle. Would you teach him?” She asked.

Rei’s eyes widened. How did Ako know he was going to ask Rin?

“As long as it’s not during swim team hours…” Rin considered it. “You couldn’t teach him anything?” He asked.

“Nothing, he just sinks.” Ako shook her head.

“I’ll train you, after swim club hours. Does that work for you?” Rin asked, smiling when Rei nodded. “You could have just called.” He said, giving Ako a look.

Ako bit her lip, just now realizing she could have indeed called. “I mean, you guys can start now?” She laughed.

“Seriously, Ako…” He shook his head. “Just because I’m Captain doesn’t mean you can crash here and use the pool whenever you want. I know you’re here to swim.” He said strictly.

“But can I use the pool, Captain?” She asked, her hands cupped together in prayer.

Rin sighed. “As long as you never call me that again.” He said.

“Thank you!” She cheered, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek before diving into the nearest empty lane.

Rin grumbled and bent down to pick up her running pants and jacket. “She soaked another one. She’s seriously abusing her rights.” He complained but set the clothes on top of his duffle bag anyway.

“Rin-san.” Rei said, the first thing he said since the whole… interaction between Rin and Ako started.

“Yeah?” Rin prompted, gathering all the application forms into one pile.

“Are you and Ako…” Rei adjusted his glasses. “In a relationship?”

Rin nearly dropped the entire pile of papers onto the damp ground, catching the pile with both his arms and part of his jacket. “Wh-why would you- no. We’re not like that, Rei. She only likes me for my pool.” He joked. “Well, my team’s pool.” He shrugged, setting the papers down and sliding them into a brown folder.

“Oh, I doubt she came here for the pool, Rin-san.” Rei smirked, finally feeling like he had the upper hand on Rin for once.

Rin raised a brow at him. “What’s that supposed to mean, Speedo Glasses? He asked.

Rei spluttered momentarily at the nickname but realized it was a ploy to put him off of the topic. “I know Ako pretty well. We’ve been friends for five years. And Ako didn’t talk about the pool or swimming once on our way here. She didn’t come here for the pool, she didn’t even come here for me. She came to see you. That’s why calling never even crossed her mind.” Rei explained.

Rin seemed to think about this for a while before snorting in amusement. “We’ll start in thirty minutes, practice will be over soon.” He said, turning to leave so he could put these papers in a safer place.

Rei stared at Rin as he left and then at his best friend and smirked.

Maybe there was a way he could thank Rin for teaching him.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

 

The problem remained clear. How was Rei supposed to cover up for his late night practices with Rin if he usually hung out with Nagisa?

“Hey, Rei-chan, let’s all drop by Haru-chan’s place after this.” Nagisa suggested.

Rei turned around and panicked. He was still trying to think of a good excuse that wasn’t an errand or a sudden emergency

Ako surged forward and linked his arm with hers. “We’re leaving together today!” Ako interjected, smiling widely.

Nagisa looked down at the calendar in his phone. “It’s not wednesday.” He said

“We’re having a best friend outing, which we haven’t been doing since you two started dating exclusively.” She stuck her tongue out at Nagisa before dragging a protesting Rei with her.

Nagisa only stared after them and laughed. “Well, cat’s out of the bag.” He shrugged.

“You guys are dating?” Ayu asked, incredulous.

Nagisa burst out laughing. “I wish!” He smiled. “I haven’t told him anything yet. But, I mean, Ako-chan hasn’t said anything to Rin-chan yet so that’s two of us. She says she’s rooting for me, though.” He winked.

“Nagisa, we’re all rooting for you.” Ayu smiled at him.

Nagisa stares at them wide eyed before hugging them all. “Thanks, everyone. We’ll let Ako-chan and Rei-chan have their own fun. I have been hogging Rei-chan all year.” He acquiesced. “Maybe I’ll steal Rin-chan from Ako-chan some time too!”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

 

 

It’s been a week since Rei started learning to swim other strokes from Rin. It was a wednesday so for once, the swim team didn’t ask about what they were doing. As expected, Rin was a much more diligent teacher than any of them. He took the time to explain concepts in swimming to Rei that Ako has been trying to read about and explain to him for years. He’s patient when he has to demonstrate those techniques to Rei. He doesn’t patronize him and he’s strict and to the point in a way that no one in Iwatobi was.

Overall, Rin was doing a good job teaching Rei the strokes although his backstroke still erred to the right and his freestyle looked wobbly and Ako didn’t even want to comment on his breaststroke, Rei was doing great. He wasn’t even sinking anymore which is great because it took Rin three days to correct it.

It was at this point that Ayu had heard enough of Nagisa’s whining and decided to call Ako.

Ako picked her phone up mindlessly and tapped the Call Receive button. “Yeah?” She prodded.

“Ako, please tell me what you and Rei are up to or so help me I will sick Nagisa on you.” Ayu said.

Ako’s posture straightened. She was definitely wide awake now. “What are you talking about? It’s wednesday, we’re jogging.” Ako insisted.

“Ako, it’s 9 pm.”

Ako checked the clock and nearly cursed, Rin and Rei were taking their sweet time today.

“Rei, you need to follow the line on the ceiling.” Rin’s voice echoed unhelpfully loud in the empty pool area.

“Is that Rin?” Ayu asked, her voice loud and full of static. “Is Rei covering you while you go out on dates with Rin?? Are you dating Rei? Are they dating each other and you chaperone???”

“For the last time, Ayu, I’m not dating Rei. Rei isn’t dating Rin while I chaperone. And Rin isn’t dating me while Rei covers for me!” She yelled angrily into the phone. “Look, I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow but you can’t tell anyone!” She insisted.

“Alright… but please tell me who is dating who?” She asked one last time.

Ako sighed. “No one is dating anyone.”

“Friends with benefits, then?” Ayu teased.

“I’m hanging up.” Ako turned her phone off and rolled her eyes.

It was no good. She couldn’t hide it from Ayu, there was no hope of her not finding out anyway. They’ll just have to make it a surprise for the rest of the team. Ayu was good at keeping secrets like Mako but it still grated on Ako to need to tell her.

Ako sighed, tomorrow wasn’t going to be a fun day.

“Everything okay?” Rin asked making Ako jump. She hadn’t heard him come up behind her or get out of the pool.

“Yeah, fine. Just Ayu. You know what she’s like. I have to tell her or she’ll make it sound like all three of us are dating behind everyone’s backs.” Ako laughed awkwardly rubbing her hands together. She was hoping to swim but she was pretty tired so she sat out that day. She’s really beginning to wish she had gotten in the pool just so she could fiddle with her goggles but she digressed. Rin still made her feel slightly uncomfortable, like a toddler learning how to walk.

Rin tilted his head but he was smiling. “It’s getting late so we’re finishing up. Is Rei taking you home?” He asked.

“Not tonight, I think. It’s pretty late so he should go straight home.” She shrugged. “I don’t go home by myself a lot since I’ve got Haru and Ayu and Mako but I _have_ done it before-”

“If you think I’m letting you go home by yourself this late then you don’t know me.” Rin grinned. He turned to wave at Rei who had during their conversation and Ako’s conversation with Ayu gotten out of the pool and changed clothes. “I’ll take her home. Take care of yourself.” He said, waving.

Ako blinked at Rei. “R-Rei?” She stuttered.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ako.” Rei waved at them and started jogging to the station.

Ako stared after him, unsure of what just happened.

“Come on, Ako.” Ako turned around and found Rin standing there already dressed in dry clothes, waiting for her to walk out with him.

“Right.” She muttered, leaning down to grab her bag and then realizing Rin already had it. “How long was I standing there staring into space?” She asked.

Rin snorted in amusement. “A pretty long time, but it gave me time to get ready.” He raised an arm for her to take.

Ako gingerly took hold of his arm and started walking. “Don’t you guys have curfew? For the dorms?” She asked.

“It’s later for third years.” He shrugged. “A lot of us go home every now and then or have to go out for interviews for work or other colleges.” He explained.

“Are you?” Ako asked.

“Am I what?” Rin turned his head to look down at her.

“Are you going to college? Here, I mean.” She clarified.

“Oh.” He blinked, not expecting that question. “I haven’t thought about where. I thought I’d decide when I actually got scouted.” He smiled.

Ako looked at her feet and smiled sadly. “You’re going to get scouted. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were in Australia this time next year.” She said, looking up to the sky.

Rin stared at her. It was beginning to dawn on him that it would hurt a lot more to leave her now than it did when they were kids or after that race with Haru six years ago. “If you were scouted in by a school in a different country, would you leave?” He asked, quietly like he hoped she wouldn’t hear his question.

“I don’t know.” Ako frowned when she thought about it but shook her head. “By the time I get scouted you and Haru might already be in the olympics so I’d pretty much have to study abroad. After all, Haru’s english is terrible.” She laughed.

Rin raised a brow at her. “You think Haru will want to swim professionally?” He asked.

“I think he’ll need a push or two. But, he doesn’t love anything more than swimming… well, except Mako.” Ako grinned. “Call it a sister’s intuition.”

Rin chuckled, stopping when he started hearing the sound of trains getting closer.

“You can leave me at the station. That’s what Rei does anyway.” Ako said.

Rin frowned. “I don’t want to.”

Ako looked up at him and blinked. “What?” She asked.

Rin didn’t want to leave her there. He wanted to keep talking to her. Wanted to sit at some 24/7 convenience store and talk all night about school and what she did in middle school and if she ever got over her fear of horror films and buddharupa statues. He wanted to tell her his plans and see if they matched with hers, if they could walk the same path all the way until the olympics. And then when they ran out of things to say, he wanted to sit and watch her as she watched the stars.

 _‘What the hell? Where did that come from?’_ He thought, shaking his head. “Nevermind. Text me when you get home so I know you made it.” He smiled.

“Alright, alright. Keep your apron on, mom.” She joked, getting on the train as it comes to a stop.

As the train doors close, Rin has to stop himself from reaching out and pulling Ako back for a hug.

Instead, he stands there and waves while Ako waves back, the train speeding away with someone that just might be more than just a good friend to Rin.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

 

Ayu stormed into the second year classroom and threw her hands down on Ako’s desk. “Gou saw Rei with the Captain of the Track Team today. Explain.” She said bluntly.

Ako blinked at her friend. She did hear from Rei that he’d be helping out the track team with their equipment that week but that was because the Captain asked him for a favor. It was no secret that since the cultural festival race they’ve been courting Rei in the hope that he’d return to the track club but Rei had no intention of going back.

“Rei isn’t going back to track.” Ako answered, looking around to make sure no one else followed Ayu. The Tachibana twin was so lucky it was dismissal and she was just waiting for Rei to finish up with the track team. “Rei’s getting swimming lessons for his other strokes.” She said quietly.

“Swimming lessons? From who-” Ayu was confused for a moment before her eyes widened in clarity. “Rin. You brought him to Samezuka.” She said, smirking when Ako nodded in answer. “How nice of him to give you a reason to see Rin, not that you needed it.”

“I see Rin every morning. I’m still helping Ai and Nakagawa and Yamanaka and the others. Sometimes, I chat about stag beetles with Momo.” She picked up her bag and looked at Ayu knowingly. “Sou misses you, you know.” She smirked.

Ayu gave her a look. “You’re beginning to look like Rin when you do that. I’m still angry with him for dropping contact for five years.” She crossed her arms.

“I’m sure he’s sorry.” Ako pushed.

Ayu laughed. “I’ll believe it when I hear it from him.” She scoffed. “Are you and Rei going back to Samezuka tonight?” She asked.

Ako nodded. “It’s his last lesson.” She said proudly.

“Good.” Ayu sighed. Maybe now things would go back to normal. “Listen, I’m glad you and Rin are together so you don’t have to be worried. I’ve basically been rooting for you two since we were kids so-”

“Ayu, we-” Ako laughed. “We’re not together. I was serious about that.”

Ayu blinked and stared incredulously at her. “Then what was with that kiss during the tournament before the cherry blossom pool?” She asked.

“I did it to shut him up! I panicked! You saw me panic!” Ako answered.

“Well, if you guys aren’t together yet...” Ayu sighed. “Fine. It’s fine, Ako. Wow, I feel terrible for Rin. I don’t know which one of you is worse.” She shook her head and started walking out of the classroom. “I’ll tell the guys you and Rei are heading out.” She said with a wave.

Ako stared at her, confused at her sudden outburst.

It was true that Ako has loved Rin since she was a kid but what was the point? With Rin leaving for the olympics ahead of her. He was headed for bigger things than Ako, in a different bracket of swimming and maybe even in a different team. She doubted there was ever a chance for them. And that was if Rin even liked her back.

Ako walked out to get Rei. After this last session, she’d stop going to Samezuka entirely and focus on her swimming. She’d make the Olympic team. And even if she and Rin wouldn’t walk the same paths, they’d at least see each other at swim meets.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

“So, they asked you if you were leaving the swim club for track.” Ako nearly burst out laughing. She’d heard it from Ayu but it was still kind of hilarious that they said it to Rei’s face.  “That was why I felt like someone was watching us when we left. Do you think they followed us all the way here?” She asked with a grin.

Rei sighed. “Either way, even if the cat is out of the bag I’m glad I could learn all the strokes from Rin-san.” He smiled, slinging his neon green backpack over his shoulder, spotting Rin leaving the changing rooms. “It’s late again, do you think you can get home on your own?” He asked pointedly, conscious of Rin’s gaze.

“No worries, I’ll take her home.” Rin patted Rei on the shoulder and grinned.

There was a time when Rei would have been frightened by his shark teeth but extended exposure to it made Rei able to deduce the difference between a taunting smirk and a playful smirk. Rin was more prone to the later around Ako.

“I’ll go, then. Are you staying, Ako?” He asked.

Ako pulled her bag towards her, she actually swam this time so she was still in her swimsuit. She let the boys sort themselves first because Rei had to be home to be at a family dinner. Rin promised to watch the door for her because Samezuka was an all boys school and had no girls’ showers unfortunately.

“I’ll just change and then Rin will walk me to the station.” She smiled, waving to Rei as he left. “Take care of yourself, Rei.”

As soon as Rei was gone, Ako ducked into the shower stalls and took a moment to enjoy the spray of warm water before drying herself and changing into her school uniform. She exited the stalls to find Rin leaning against the wall in his Samezuka uniform, the black version they used for sports teams. Personally, the white one kind of made Ako laugh it looked so warm and uncomfortable but then again Samezuka was well ventilated.

Ako shivered. Speaking of ventilation, she probably should have brought a jacket. She shrugged it off and walked towards Rin. “Thanks for making sure I got to the station safe… again.” She laughed.

“Well, I do it for Gou all the time. I wouldn’t want to give Haru a heart attack.” He snorted in amusement.

“Right.” Ako said half-heartedly. The reminder that he saw her as a sort-of little sister and as secondary to Haru stung. “Wouldn’t want to cause another fight between you two by being kidnapped or anything.” She joked.

Rin frowned, wishing she wouldn’t joke about that. It was thoughts like those that usually made Rin want to call Ako in the middle of the day and ask if she got to school okay or if her jog that morning went smoothly. He shook those thoughts out of his head. Ako was old enough to handle herself.

“Don’t remind me.” He shook his head, staring down at the ground and smiling when Ako took hold of his arm like she did last evening.

“ _I can’t seem to sleep at all tonight, all my thoughts are keeping my eyes wide. Every single one led to this very feeling, it’s as if the night sky seems to know everything._ ” Ako hummed, staring up at the sky.

Rin stopped and Ako stopped with him, content to look up at the sky together while Ako sang softly. Ako didn’t seem to notice what she was doing, lost in the song. But Rin saw it all. There was a note of finality to her expression. He looked up, thinking maybe he’d find the source of those feelings written in the stars.

All he saw were dark clouds blocking out the sky.

“Rin.” She said finally after finishing the song.

Rin looked away from the stars and down at her. “Yeah?” He encouraged.

Ako took a deep breath and promptly tripped dragging Rin down with her, coming to a stop with Rin rolled awkwardly under Ako after he tried to break Ako’s fall. “I-I’m sorry- wow, I didn’t mean for that. My life is just a huge joke around you these days.” She babbled awkwardly.

Rin laughed softly. “It’s mutual, trust me.” He smiled up at her, raising a hand to push some leaves out of her hair. “Your hair’s getting pretty long.” He observed.

“I thought I’d grow it out now.” She said, fidgeting with the ends of her hair as she slid off of Rin to sit next to him in the grass. “It probably won’t help me get any faster-”

“It looks good, Ako.” He complimented, starlight bathing him in silver glow and making Ako’s heart speed up. “Weren’t you going to say something?” He asked.

Ako stared at him, unable to comprehend for a moment just how this boy, this brilliant and perfect boy, could ever like her. The only answer she could come up with was that Rin deserved so much better than a little girl that idolized him, that lived in the shadow of her more talented and superior older brother.

“We’re friends, right?” She asked, unable to come up with anything else in the face of her self-doubt.

Rin frowned, turning and sitting up so they were face to face. “Ako.” He took her hands in his. “Before Australia, I came to Iwatobi to feel closer to my dad and his dream. You guys… Haru, Makoto, Nagisa… they made me love swimming. But, you, having you around, having you watching and imitating me.” He squeezed her hands and pulled her close, hugging her. “They made me love swimming, but you made me love myself. That was you, Ako.”

Ako’s eyes welled up with tears, holding one of her hands to her chest trying to quell the pain. It felt like her heart was breaking. She laughed, a choked sobbing laugh, to cover up the sound.

“Ako… you’re my _best_ friend.” Rin said as if to drive the point home. "I don't ever want to lose that."

With another breath, Ako smiled holding him closer. “You won't. I promise.”


	15. Episode 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the words of that sad song from Love Live... heARTBREAAAAAK!

**EPISODE 4**

\-  _ Iwatobi, High School _ -

* * *

 

 

The day after the team “found out” about Rei’s miraculous learning of all the strokes of swimming, Ako went back to her typical workout schedule and stopped going to Samezuka. When Rin asked her if she would come over to visit the team sometime, she decline with a shrug claiming she was focusing on getting better times.

“That Rin.” Ako complained but smiled anyway at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. “You can’t just break a girl’s heart and expect her to go on like nothing’s changed.” Holding her phone to her chest in a tight grip, she moved to get into her house and change for school but was stopped by someone clearing their throat. “I-”

Ayu stepped forward and turned Ako so the girl was facing her. “You cut your morning swim early, I almost didn’t make it in time to give you the soup.” She smiled, gently pushing the thermos into Ako’s arms. Her eyes, however, said she couldn’t escape from this conversation.

Ako sighed. “I’ll tell you everything while we walk to school.” She shrugged. “I have to change first, Ayu-chan.”

Ayu nodded. “Go ahead, Ako.” She sat down on the steps of the torii and played with Makoto’s favorite cat while she waited.

It took everything in Ayu’s power not to burst through Samezuka and strangle Rin by the time Ako explained what happened. “I can’t believe that ass friendzoned you.” She growled, kicking a rock angrily.

“Well, can you blame him? I mean, to him I probably still look like the dumb girl who stalked him and imitated his swimming. He said… he said I made him  _ accept _ himself, Ayu.” She groaned. “Should I feel bad for wanting more than I got?” She asked.

“You have the right to!” Ayu said with a sigh.

Ako was zeroing in on her training because she wanted to focus on something other than Rin. She felt like Rin would never like her. And, to her, it must look like Rin would never return those feelings.

“Hey.” She reached out to sling her arm over Ako’s shoulders. “Rin adores you. I’m sure he’ll understand what that means eventually.”

Ako stared up at her with a sad smile. “Keep dreaming, Ayu-chan. Keep on dreaming.”

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Sports Zero Shopping Center  _ -

* * *

 

 

When Gou went to the shopping center for ingredients for her 100 point bento she didn’t expect to bump into Rin and his team swimwear shopping. She sighed as Momo asked her which swimsuits would suit him. It seemed it would be her curse that every time she was at this shopping center she would run into her older brother.

Gou can’t seem to look at her brother without frowning now after Ayu had told her over lunch with the team about what happened between him and Ako. She’s glad, of course, that Ako decided to focus on training though at the cost of losing hope in a future with Rin past friendship. She wouldn’t know what to do if Rin decided to date anyone other than Ako.

When Rin dragged Momo to a rack of swimwear and started explaining to him how a certain pair of trunks would be more suited to his swim style, she could almost imagine Ako saying the same thing all those months ago giving her and Chigusa advice on swimwear.

Gou laughed. It should have been obvious to everyone even then how compatible they were. “If only Onii-chan could see himself.” She sighed wistfully.

“What’s up?” Sousuke asked.

“Oh, nothing.” She brushed it off and smiled up at him. Speaking of cluelessness, next on the agenda was Sousuke and Ayu and they were almost worse than Ako and Rin. “Well, you guys have fun.” She said before turning to leave.

Sousuke watched her leave with his eyebrows raised in confusion.

“Sousuke! I’m going out for a sec.” Rin called out to him.

“Yeah, I’ll come with.” Sousuke nodded, walking out with the redhead. Rin sat down and made himself comfortable on the steps of the shopping center while Sousuke bought a can of soda from the vending machine.

“Soda, as usual? You never change.” Rin shook his head and stood up. “I haven’t had one in a while, so maybe I’ll get one too-”

Sousuke stepped aside and smirked when Rin froze, reading the SOLD OUT sign under the soda logo. He lifted an arm to rest his left bicep on Rin’s shoulder. “Wanna have a throwdown for it?” He asked, holding up the soda can.

_ ‘Idiot, you know you never win at janken against Rin!’ _ Ayu’s voice snarked in Sousuke’s mind but he ignored it. He’s heard her snide remarks in his head for a long time since he stopped sending her letters.

“Heck yeah!”

_ ‘I told you so.’  _ The Ayu in Sousuke’s head snickered.

“Shut up.” He hissed.

“Huh?” Rin turned around and gave him a look. “What’s up, Sou?” He asked.

Sousuke shrugged. “More importantly, Rin…” He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you ever call me during these past five years? Did something happen in Australia?” He asked, the look of distress on Rin’s face almost making him want to stop. But, no. He had to keep pushing. Rin will never spit it out unless he did. “Your letters stopped coming after a while. I figured you must’ve hit a wall or something. That’s why I didn’t say anything about it when we met again.” He grunted, pushing himself up into an upright position. “Now, I want to know what happened.”

Rin’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock. His eyes softened as he put down the can of soda. “It wasn’t a big deal. It was exactly what you imagined. I was studying abroad, hit a wall, then stumbled and couldn’t get back up. That was it. I even thought about quitting.” He smiled. “But, I was saved by Haru and the others. By my friends.”

“By Ako.” Sousuke grinned.

“Yeah.” Rin laughed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, by Ako too.” He leaned back. “When I swam with them in the relay they showed me a sight I’d never seen before. And it made me want to swim again.” Rin stood up. “That’s why, this time, I swim for the sake of the people who saved me. And for the sake of my own dreams too.” He grinned toothily.

Sousuke stared up at his best friend and shook his head. “You always were a romantic swimming maniac, weren’t you?” He teased.

“Shut up.”

They both laughed and then sat in silence for a while before Sousuke took the initiative. “So, what are you going to do about Nanase?” He asked, probing.

“Probably beat his team in medley relay, of course.” Rin rolled his eyes at Sousuke, stating the obvious.

Sousuke frowned. “I mean Ako.”

Rin’s brows furrowed in confusion before giving way to conflict. “I don’t know, Sou.” He shrugged, leaning back. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that at this point there’s a lot I never knew about Ako and even more things I need to make up for when it comes to her-”

“Shut up, Rin.” Sousuke flicked his head, ignoring the sharp yell coming from his Captain. “Do you love the girl or not?”

“I-” Rin retorted loudly before going quiet. “I do. I- She’s great. Ako’s the greatest. She’s talented and smart and nice and deserves so much better than what she gets. God, I love her.” He admitted, running his fingers over the worried lines on his face.

Sousuke grinned. “Then, it should be obvious what you should do, right?” He asked.

Rin stared at his other best friend and laughed. “I’ll confess if you do.”

Sousuke stiffened. “Confess what?” He said cautiously.

“To being head over heels for Ayu since grade school.” Rin teased.

Sousuke’s shoulders unwinded in relief as he let the sound of Rin’s teasing lull him into a relaxed daze. Rin would confess to Ako when he’s good and ready in a grand way because it’s Rin and he’s a romantic. 

Reaching up to his shoulder, Sousuke wonders if telling Ayu everything would help or if it would just drag her down.  

 

* * *

\-  _ Iwatobi, Train _ -

* * *

 

 

Ako sighed, reluctantly hitting send on her phone. “With Gou’s new training regimen, I’m going to have to have to eat better meals so I have energy to swim more laps in the pool.” She bit her lip. “I have to work hard and do my best this time around, right?” She asked, her grip tightening on her cellphone. “Maybe if I win someone will scout me. I did promise Rin we’d make it to the Olympics together.”

“Ako...” Ayu frowned, her worrying tone bringing Ako back to reality.

“Eight kilometers a day, Ayu.” She groaned, already feeling the phantom pains of training. Feeling wetness on her hands she reached up and felt teardrops falling down her face. “Oh really-” She laughed nervously, wiping angrily at her face.

Ayu let out a sigh of her own as the train screeched to a stop near the High School. “I’m just as displeased about it as you are but we have to. We’re going to Nationals this year, right?” She held a hand up to Ako.

Ako shook herself awake and slapped her hand against Ayu’s with a grin. “Heck yeah!”

_ Ring! Ring! _

“Huh?” Ako jumped, her hands fumbling to grab her phone from her pocket. “I should put that on silent.” She switched it to vibrate and caught sight of the text that caused it to ring.

Ako’s eyes widened.

_You weren’t around this morning. I wanted to say I’ll be swimming the relay with Rin. I’m not the same as I was. I’m not swimming for myself anymore. Tell Ayu._

_\- Y.S._

“Ako? Who is it?” Ayu asked. “Is it-” She froze, her brows furrowing into an angry downward turning v shape. “You tell him he can wait until you’re done kicking ass at Nationals.” She crossed her arms, walking out of the station with Ako.

**I’m proud of you. But tell her yourself. - Ako**

Ako tapped send with a wide smile, happy for her childhood friend in spite of the pain in her chest. “It’s not Rin.” She said vaguely, shoving her phone back in her pocket. “Yosh, this year’s competitions are going to be interesting!” She smirked.

Ayu’s worried gaze stayed on Ako. “Yeah.” She whispered.

Rin would come to his senses and realize how good they are for each other, that the path both of them were walking ultimately lead back to feelings they’ve been denying for far too long. 

And if he doesn’t, well, then Ayu will take things into her own hands.


	16. Episode 5

**EPISODE 5**

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

Ayumu slammed her hand down on Gou’s desk, a slightly wrinkled brochure under her spread palm. “I’ve got a science seminar to go to next week. I won’t be around.” She informed, sliding the brochure for the inter-school science event.

“I’m happy for you, Ayu-senpai. But, why are you… telling me?” Gou asked, tilting her head. Everyone knew Ayu was responsible about her training but also that she wanted to pursue a career in science and applications in physical health and training possibly to become a medic, physio, or physical trainer. The event looked to be a gathering of several well known science colleges which made it a great opportunity for her.

“Do I even need to say it?” She sighed. “Ako’s been focusing on making it to Nationals but you already know she’s been avoiding Rin. I want you to talk to her, hang out with her. Hana-chan’s going on that business trip with her parents next week, right?” She asked.

Ah, yes. Gou was sort of wondering what she’d do with herself since Chigusa would be away. “Yes, but wouldn’t it be worse if it was me? Since I’m his sister?” She retorted.

“Gou, you’re the only one who can reassure Ako that she _is_ important to Rin.” Ayu pulled a chair out and sat on it so she and Gou sat face to face. “You wanted to get to know the Ako that Rin loves. This is your chance.”

Gou thought about it. She did say that and she hasn’t spent nearly enough time with Ako to fully understand the girl. Smiling, she felt a lightbulb going off in her head. “Maybe not the _only_ one.” She smirked.

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy -_

* * *

 

With a smirk, Rin dropped his towel back so it rested against his shoulders. “I think my current training regimen better suits me.” He smiles, remembering Ako’s text about Gou’s strict regimen, the one that keeps her from stopping by at Samezuka. He wonders absently if she’ll ever visit again. She seemed tired last time he’d tried to call her.

“You never get complacent, do you?” Ai asked excitedly.

Rin blinked at him, eyebrow raised. “Of course not, someone who’s complacent can’t compete on an international level. Right, Sousuke?” He nodded at the taller swimmer, blinking when Sousuke only answered half-heartedly. But, before he could probe further, Momo managed to make a scene yet again.

“Are you swimming or talking? Just pick one.” He grumbled, running a hand through his hair as he went to the benches to grab a dry towel. As Rin sifted through his stuff, he felt his phone vibrate and checked the caller id.

It was Gou.

Rin picked up quickly, bringing his phone up to his ear. “Gou?”

“Onii! Are you coming home this weekend?” She asked.

Bringing his phone away from his ear, he made a face at it before answering. “No, I’m staying at Samezuka to train more before regionals.” He explained.

“Great! I’m bringing someone over for the week up to the weekend. I already asked mom if she was alright with it.” She chirped happily.

Rin sat down, confused. “Mom’s at the house?” He tilted his head at the rare occurrence. Maybe he will come home to visit, to see their mom if anything. She hasn’t seen him since he… well, became content with life. She’ll be glad to see he’s out of his slump. “Wait, who’s coming over? Your friend, Chigusa?” His brows furrow. That couldn’t be right, he remembered Gou complaining about her parents dragging her with them on a business trip.

“Oh, it’s just Ako.” Gou answered quickly. “I gotta go, we have practice and with Ayu-senpai and Hana-chan gone it’s just me and Ako-”

“Tell mom I’ll be home Saturday morning.” Rin butted in, afraid Gou would hang up before he could say so.

Gou was silent for a few seconds before bursting into surprised laughter. “You’re coming home willingly? Wow, I should invite Ako-chan over more often.” Rin rolled his eyes at her teasing. “Should I warn Ako-chan?” She asked.

Rin thought about it and then remembered that ice cream shop Ako was talking to him about before. “No, it’ll be… a surprise.” He smiled.

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

“Nagisa-kun?” Ako heard Rei call out, her head turning abruptly to survey the damage. “What’s the matter? You’re spacing out.” Rei asked. Nagisa’s silence worried Ako a bit and almost prompted her to step forward and ask him to spill.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Want to come over to my place, Ako-chan? I know it’s sudden but I thought since Hana-chan and Ayu-senpai were away we could get to know each other. You can borrow some of my stuff and I’ll hang your uniform so you can use it tomorrow!” Gou explained, sucking in all her courage.

Ako’s eyes stayed on the suspiciously quiet Nagisa until her gaze met Rei’s. The dark haired athlete nodded in Ako’s direction, a silent promise to get to the bottom of things. Her work done, she turned back to Gou. “Uh, alright. I’ll just… tell Haru-” She gestured to her brother.

“Even someone like me... can get tired sometimes!” Nagisa yelled before running off.

“You know what, let’s go now.” Ako insisted, taking Gou’s hand and pulling her forward. “I’ll be at Gou-chan’s for the week, Nii-chan! Please bring my overnight bag tomorrow!” She yelled in Haru and Makoto’s general direction. She’ll text them later to make sure they remembered.

Ako could use a break from their drama anyway.

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Matsuoka House_ -

* * *

 

“I’m home, mom!” Gou called out as she slid the door open and removed her shoes, Ako following closely behind her. She felt nervousness practically pouring out of the younger Nanase. “I brought that friend I told you about!” She called out, giggling when her mother’s hurried steps started resonating through the small house.

Matsuoka Miyako emerged from the kitchen, smiling brightly at their guest. “I’ve been waiting to meet the infamous Nanase Ako-chan.” She smoothed out her apron and stood in front of Ako. “I’m Miyako, Rin and Gou’s mom.” She introduced herself, taking Ako’s hands in hers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Matsuoka-san. You have a lovely home.” Ako smiled back at her, responding politely.

Gou smirked at the way her mom practically radiated how pleased she was.

“Please, just call me Miyako. I feel like you’re my third child with the way my children talk about you.” Miyako teased.

Ako leveled an exasperated stare at Gou. “Gou-chan.” She whined.

“Oh, Gou has mentioned how great you are at swimming but I was talking about Rin.” She sighed. “He’s not been able to stop praising you since he left for Australia. It’s in all his letters. Haru said Ako beat the girls’ freestyle record again! Haru said Ako’s joining 200 meter butterfly this year! I’ve been quite curious about you.” Sensing Ako’s discomfort, she stopped and pulled Ako towards the kitchen. “I understand that you had much to do in my son’s return to sanity.”

“It really wasn’t me.” Ako shrugged. “That was mostly Haru and the guys.”

Miyako reached back and placed a plate of cookies on the dining room table. “Sweetheart, I have eyes.” She pointed knowingly at her deep red eyes, Rin’s eyes. “You’re welcome here anytime. Any friend of my son’s is so make sure to bring the others with you if you can.”

Ako smiled sadly. “Of course, his friends.”

Gou and Miyako looked at each other and started moving. “Want to help out in the kitchen, Ako? I promise we’re not having any mackerel this week!” She joked.

With a groan, Ako followed Gou to the kitchen smiling. “Please adopt me, Miyako-san.”

Miyako watched them both go with a smile. “Hm, Matsuoka Akio. I like the sound of it.” She chuckled, tapping her fingers against the table.

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

Sousuke watched Rin fuss over his luggage with a smirk. The Captain seemed to alternate between comparing two completely identical articles of clothing before choosing one and going back to the second option. “They’re pajamas, dork. Pick one.” He snickered.

“Shut up. I haven’t seen my mom in ages.” He muttered.

“Yeah, because you want to look good for your mom.” Sousuke rolled his eyes before helpfully packing a spare Samezuka Swim Team jacket into Rin’s pack. “Don’t lose your chance this time, Rin.”

Rin stared at the jacket, flashing back to when Sousuke gave Ako his jacket and white hot jealousy overtook him. “Yeah. I won’t.” He nodded, zipping his duffel shut.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

“So, you and Rei are together.” Ako said blandly after the boys explained to her and Gou what happened with Nagisa’s parents. “Finally?” She raised a brow at the pair who were sitting suspiciously close.

Rei blushed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’m sorry for not telling you first, Ako. I know we haven’t really… been talking lately.” He apologized.

Ako’s smirk softened and she got up to hug both Nagisa and Rei. “You make sure Rei isn’t too uptight, Nagisa-ko.” She teased, teary-eyed.

“Only if you help me out, Ako-chi.” He said, shoving her over so that she and Rei could hug.

Ako bit down on a sob, hiding her face in Rei’s chest. “Nagisa-ko, no fair. You called me a cuter nickname than usual.” She laughed, turning so she could hug Nagisa.

Rei reached down to poke at the wet spot on his shirtsleeve and frowned, moving to ask Ako about it. Nagisa made a hushing motion and then looked at Ako. Looking at Haru and Makoto, both of his upperclassmen started shaking their heads.

“Why don’t we go get drinks, Ako-chan?” Gou suggested, taking Ako along with her.

“Before you ask, Ako really is happy for you two.” Haru piped up. “But, from what I know, Ako’s convinced Rin only wants to be her friend.” He clarified.

Rei spluttered. “That’s- That’s absurd. With the way Rin-san looks at her?” He blinked repeatedly.

“ _Ako, you’re my best friend. I don’t want to lose that._ ” Makoto said slowly, staring up at the clouds. “Is what Rin said.”

“Did Ako-chan get rejected?” Nagisa asked, incredulous.

“I don’t think that’s the whole story.” Haru picked at his food and tilted his head to the side. “Ako always looked up to Rin. He was larger than life to her. It’s possible that she can’t believe he’d ever want to be with her.” He trailed off, popping a chunk of rice and fish into his mouth. “But, Rin’s not given Ako a reason to trust him after Australia. She might know in her mind he has changed but… even I wouldn’t be sure about Rin’s feelings with how they kept changing before.” He explained.

Looking at the rest of the guys, Haru’s blue eyes shone with understanding. “Ako used to be too close enough to Rin to predict his every move. His return from Australia proves he’s a completely different Rin now but still the same person she loves and she’s not sure how this Rin will react to her feelings so she’s decided to put a stop to them before it starts.”

Nagisa blinked at Haru in surprise. “Wow, Haru-chan. You sound like you really know what you’re talking about.” He praised.

“What are you talking about?” Haru glared at him.

Makoto stared at Haru through new eyes. It sounded almost exactly like what happened between them in Middle School when Haru said he’d felt like Makoto was changing. Back when it was like they’d been truly separated for the first time.

In that moment, Makoto wondered if maybe it wasn’t just Ako who felt that way.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Matsuoka House_ -

* * *

 

Ako woke up a bit disoriented that Saturday morning, shuffling around looking for her porpoise stuffed animal until she realized she was in Gou’s room. “Gou-chan?” She muttered, blearily wiping at her face with her fist. The dark haired girl was still sleeping happily next to her and snoring lightly. Ako smiled at her and got up to stretch, checking the time.

Five in the morning, early enough for a run before breakfast.

Slipping into running gear, she left a note at Gou’s bedside table and a text just in case before stepping out of the room. When she reached the living room, she caught Miyako getting things ready in the kitchen for breakfast.

The Matsuoka matron turned and leveled one of her knowing smiles at her. “Ah, you really are two of a kind.” She said absentmindedly.

Before Ako could ask what she meant, she caught movement from the entrance and came face to face with Matsuoka Rin.

“I’ll be back in a few, I just need to get some training in-” Turning, he caught sight of Ako and his eyes widened. “Ako.” He said with a slow smile. “Going out for a run?” He asked.

Ako shrugged, shoving her shaking hands into the pockets of her light blue and white jacket. “Regionals is soon. I’m planning to be at Yokohama for Nationals.” She grinned.

“It’s not safe to go out by yourself when you don’t know the neighborhood, Ako-chan.” Miyako tutted. “Rin can go with you, right honey?” She suggested, not so subtly winking in her son’s general direction.

Rin nearly flushed at her teasing but turned and lead Ako out the door instead. “How much distance can you handle?” He asked.

“More than you.” She smirked, launching into her stretches.

Rin’s shark tooth grin sent shivers up her spine. “We might take a while, then.”

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Gou’s Room_ -

* * *

 

Gou stared down at her brother and Ako taking their starting positions before taking off. Rin tried to sprint at the beginning, competitive as he was, before realizing that Ako was taking a slow and steady strategy and slowing to match her pace so he could run a longer distance than her. “Those two.” She shook her head, getting up to help her mom make breakfast for when they finally got tired.

“They better hurry up and come to their senses.”

 

* * *

\- _Somewhere in Iwatobi_ -

* * *

 

It turned out to be a pretty smart decision to go with Rin since Ako wasn’t familiar with that area of the prefecture. The scenery was less beachfront and more rolling hills than where she and Haru lived. Following Rin’s shadow was kind of nostalgic…

Up until he’d come to an abrupt stop at the foot of one of the hills and Ako almost crashed into him.

Skidding to a stop, Ako opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong until she looked up and realized there was a tall marble like slab at the top of the hill.

“Come on.” Rin smiles softly at her. “I want you to meet someone.”

They both struggle a bit up the slippery slope of the hill until they reached the slab. The name on the slab confirmed Ako’s suspicions.

> **Matsuoka Toraichi**

“Hey dad.” Rin whispered.

Ako stayed still behind him, not knowing what to say. She let him speak, trying to figure out what was suitable for the moment. Rin seemed to be in his own world or probably in his memories, reaching out to brush his fingers against the tombstone.

“This is Ako, she’s Haru’s sister. Yeah, the one I told you was fast for a girl.” He laughed, turning to watch as her face went from empathy to exasperation. “She’s even faster than ever. I think you’ll like her. Mom certainly does.” He nodded in Ako’s direction, encouraging her to step forward.

Ako stepped in front of Rin and sat down in front of the tombstone, pulling her swimming goggles out of her pocket and putting it down on the dirt. “Hi, I’m Ako. I swim freestyle and butterfly because it reminds me of the two most important people in my life.” She said quietly, honestly, forgetting Rin’s warm presence behind her. “Rin’s finally found what he wants, you must be proud of the man he’s become. And I promise, Toraichi-san, that I’ll be there for him when he reaches the Olympic stage.” She grinned, fistbumping the stone. “He’ll have to swim faster than that if he wants to get rid of me now.”

Rin bit his lip hard, forcing his hands into his pockets. It took everything in his power not to reach out and pull Ako in, to turn her around and press his lips to hers, to not let her know just how hopelessly far he’d fallen for her.

Ako was Haru’s sister. Ako idolized him. Ako was his _friend_.

Anything more than that was more than he deserved. But, standing there, watching Ako converse so comfortably with his father, Rin wondered if maybe he could be selfish this one time. For her.


	17. Episode 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prefecturals, yet again. Except this time we win things.

**EPISODE 6**

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

“So, let me get this straight.” Ayu breathed in deeply. “While Ako and Gou were having their Rin Fanclub sleepover, Nagisa’s parents found out about Nagisa’s terrible grades, told him to quit swimming which caused Nagisa to run away from home, resolve his issues with his parents, and then finally hook up with Rei?” She asked, leaning back with a sigh. “Yeah, I didn’t miss anything of importance _at all_. Why do we always miss everything?” She said, turning to Gou, Ako, and Chigusa.

“The boys have their own things to sort out.” Ako soothed.

“Nevermind that!” Gou ripped a sheet from their calendar. “Prefecturals is tomorrow so everyone needs to get lots of sleep today! We’ll meet tomorrow in front of the venue at 8 am sharp! Tardiness is strictly prohibited!” Gou announced.

While Rei and Nagisa posed, showing off their matching swimsuits, Ako rummaged in her bag for her towel and felt her phone vibrate. She turned it on.

        _Did you eat all of the cookie-cupcakes? - Rin_

Ako ducked her head to hide the smile on her face. When they got back to the house after their run, Gou had set out the weird cupcake shaped cookies Ako liked from that one ice cream store near Samezuka. Rin managed to swing past on his way home and bought some.

        **Your fault for leaving them out in the open. You know I love them. - Ako**

The reply was instantaneous and nearly attracted Ayu’s attention but Ako slung her towel over herself and hid her phone in between its folds.

        _I got them for you anyway. - Rin_

Ako blinked, not knowing what to say to that.

  **Doesn’t mean we’re going easy on Samezuka at Prefecturals.** \- Ako

Rin took his time answering and Ako dried her hair anxiously to pass the time, waving at Rei and Nagisa as they left to catch the train. Makoto and Ayu hit the showers ahead of herself and Haru, as usual.

Ako was about to give up and hit the showers herself when her phone finally vibrated.

        _Damn it. My evil plot was foiled._ \- Rin

Ako sighed in relief. Typing back her final reply and placing her phone back in her bag.

        **Game on, Matsuoka. - Ako**

“Big plans after prefecturals?” Gou smirked.

Ako turned, her face bright red upon being caught red handed by Rin’s own sister. “It’s just Rin.” She admitted, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. She’d found a comfortable if a little awkward rhythm around Rin. Joke, challenge, evade. It was the only way for him never to find out about her feelings.

“I gathered.” Gou smiled. “You alright?” She asked, walking out of the club room.

“I’ve been better.” She admitted. “But,” She smirked. “I really am looking forward to kicking ass at prefecturals.”

Gou bumped her shoulder to Ako’s, smiling “That’s the spirit. You’ll do great at prefecturals, and at regionals, and then you’ll slay at nationals. You’ll get scouted.”

Ako swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling a bit more confident. “I’ll definitely make it.”

“So, Mako and Haru are going to swim against each other.” Ayu said, drying her hair and walking towards the younger girl. “You think they’ll finally get their acts together?” She asked.

Ako groaned. “I just hope they get _themselves_ together if not their acts.” She joked.

“You know them.” Ayu rolled her eyes. “Boys are hopeless.”

Ako shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe they’re starting to wisen up.” She winked.

 

* * *

\- _Matsuoka Family Grave_ -

* * *

 

Rin reached out reflexively to catch Gou by the arm before she could fall over. “Hey!” He pulled her upright. “Be careful.”

Gou laughed awkwardly, an apologetic look on her face. “Thanks.” She smiled. “You should bring Ako here some time. I bet dad would love to meet her.” She suggested.

A slow smirk pulled across Rin’s face. “I did.”

Gou’s eyes widened. “You took Ako here? To meet dad?? Wha-When? How?” She asked, nearly jumping up in shock.

“Well, I figure since she met mom already thanks to you.” He stared down at Gou accusingly. “Besides, it was nice.”

Gou was silent for a moment before exploding again. “What happened?” She asked.

“Don’t stress the details, Gou. We’re almost to dad’s grave” Rin snickered quietly to himself, walking ahead so he can say his prayers first.

Gou followed after him, shaking her head.

They both bowed to show their respect and silently said what they wanted to say.

“I was being serious, Onii-chan. You have to tell me what she said, I need to know what dad thought of her.” She cracked an eyelid open and her mouth formed an ‘o’ of surprise. “Rin’s got a girlfriend now, dad. She’s from Iwatobi. Your hometown. I guess you’ve met her. You might know her parents, the Nanases. And Rin must have talked your ear off about swimming with his best rival, Haruka-senpai. She’s his younger sister and she’s a really strong swimmer herself so I’m sure you loved her.”

Rin rolled his eyes at her but smiled fondly. “Gou…” He sighed.

“She’s really nice. She taught me how to swim butterfly even when Rin couldn’t get me to swim. And she’s loved Rin… like, forever. Since Rin was in middle school. So, please watch over her and make sure Rin doesn’t mess this up because I want her to be my sister-in-law.” Gou finished with a decisive nod as if she and their dad were nodding together.

“Did dad tell you anything?” Rin smirked.

“Just that he agrees with me.” She straightened herself up, crossing her arms.

“About what?” He asked.

“That Ako is the best ever and you better not mess it up!” She snickered, stopping when Rin stared out into the ocean instead of protested.

The wind blew Rin’s hair all over the place but he continued to stare out into the ocean and for the first time ever he didn’t feel burdened by anything. “She is.” He agreed. “And if I do mess up, feel free to kick me back to normal.” He grinned toothily at Gou.

Gou felt her eyes tear up and pumped a fist in the air. “You bet your ass I will!”

 

* * *

_\- Prefecturals Day 1: Individual Relay -_

* * *

 

“The guys are cutting it close again.” Chigusa complained, tapping her foot impatiently. “Guys say girls like to travel in groups? Well, those four never go anywhere unless it’s together.” She snarked.

Ako made soothing noises in an attempt to calm Chigusa down. “I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” She reassured.

Gou gasped. “There they are! Guys! Over here!” She waved, calling the boys over.

Ayu’s gaze was drawn to another group of highschool boys however. Her eyes scanned the ranks of Samezuka and she frowned when she couldn’t find Sousuke. “Where is he?” She muttered to herself.

Ako looked at Ayu and followed her line of sight. “Hey!” She broke out into a wide grin and started sprinting over to Samezuka’s team.

“Wait- Ako!” Ayu shouted, chasing after her.

“Sei!” Ako shouted, throwing her arms open and shouting gleefully when Seijuro accepted her hug and lifted her into the air. “It’s great to see you too, Sei. But, put me down.” She laughed, not expecting that much enthusiasm.

“Ah! Nothing beats seeing Iwatobi’s ray of sunshine!” Seijuro chuckled.

Momo looked on, his face horrified. “Nii-chan! What are you doing with Rin-senpai’s girlfriend?!” He half shouted.

“G-Girlfriend?” Ako’s face turned bright red, turning away from Samezuke and hiding her face in her hands.

Rin stared at Ako, his mouth turning down in a slight frown. “Momo!” He scolded, glaring at his underclassman for making Ako uncomfortable.

Sei blinked at his younger brother. “Girlfriend?” He asked, putting Ako down.

The entire team groaned.

“It’s flattering but we’re just good friends, right Rin?” Ako said, turning to Samezuka’s Captain with expectant eyes.

Rin nodded mutely. “I’m doing my best for the team and to make the Olympics.”

“Oh, I see.” Seijuro turned to Rin and gave him a quizzical look. “Well, it’s good to see you’re focusing on leading this team responsibly, Matsuoka. I still hope that one day, you’ll finally get your act together.” He shrugged.

“What do you mean, finally?” Rin muttered, looking away as Ai laughed next to him.

Ako grinned and pointed up at Seijuro. “I’m glad you’re here to watch me wipe the floor with your team!” She said, her eyes lighting up with determination.

“She really is the Captain’s girlfriend.” Some of the Samezuka boys muttered, much to Rin’s dismay, cowering in fear.

Seijuro laughed loudly. “Bring it on, Ako! If you get good results, maybe I’ll even talk about you with our coach.” He gave her a thumbs up.

“Did you get that, Ako?” Ayu grinned, shaking Ako by the shoulders. “You could get scouted!”

Ako blinked at Ayu before smiling half-heartedly. “Y-Yeah.”

-

Ako’s hands clapped slowly. She was happy for Nagisa. All his training really paid off and his parents even came to watch his race. But, she looked at the scoreboard and felt sad again.

 

> 4  Niitori Aichirou  Samezuka Academy

“Ai got fourth.” She whispered, looking towards Samezuka’s team sitting promptly in their section of the benches to find Rin frowning at the score. Rin had high hopes for Ai and Ako knew he wanted to have Ai on his Relay team but with these results it would be hard to justify putting him in the relay.

“Next up is backstroke, Makoto! Keep this momentum going and win it!” Coach Sasabe yelled at a decibel that woke Ako from her pondering and made her ears ring. She managed to turn just in time to catch the meaningful look Haru had aimed at Makoto.

“Interesting.” She hummed and resolved to tell Ayu all about it later. “He’s going to race Uozomi and Momo this heat.” She said to Ayu who was getting hyped about her brother’s race. “Momo is fast but he’ll be on the outside lane so he’s at a disadvantage-”

“And Uozomi doesn’t stand a chance against Mako!” She cheered. “Win this, Mako!” She yelled, waving at her twin from the stands.

As predicted, Makoto took first and will make it through to regionals. But...

“Momo qualifying was a total steal! No one saw it coming.” Ayu crossed her arms, mildly impressed.

Ako nodded. “He can get pretty fast in practice but not this fast.” She said, but then again she hasn’t been to Samezuka in a while so maybe they worked on Momo’s speed during that time. “Rin’s been really productive these past few weeks.” She praised.

“Nagisa-kun’s breaststroke, then Makoto-senpai’s backstroke…” Rei looked up. “Both of these races exhibited the beautiful rivalry between Iwatobi and Samezuka! The stage is now primed for the butterfly competition!” He yelled, adjusting his glasses.

“You just jinxed yourself.” Ayu sighed.

Rei stepped up to the starting block, looked around, and threw his hands in the air. “WHY??”

In spite of jinxing himself, Rei managed to grab first place.

Nagisa held onto his sobbing boyfriend and patted his back soothingly. “You were amazing, Rei-chan.” He praised.

“And the one who ranked first overall in butterfly is…” Gou grinned at Ako and Ako grinned right back at her. “Matsuoka Rin!” Gou announced.

“Woo! Talented! Responsible! Top of his class! First overall in butterfly! Captain of the Swim Team!” Ako stopped suddenly and started sobbing on Gou’s shoulder. “He keeps getting more and more out of my league, Gou-chan!” She heaved.

Gou wiped an imaginary tear from her cheek and patted Ako’s back. “I understand. He’s too perfect.” She proclaimed proudly.

“You two are hopeless.” Ayu sighed.

Before they knew it, Ako was over with the Samezuka team and cheering. “Awesome! Awesome! Matsuoka! Yeah!” They cheered together.

“I feel bad for Rin, suddenly.” Ayu deadpanned.

“I think it’s cute.” Gou giggled.

Ayu and Gou shared a look. “I’ll think it’s cute once they’re finally together.” Ayu sighed.

Ako looked at the time and then at Ayu, nodding.

“Ako’s saying it’s time to go. We’ll be having our heats after lunch so we’ll have to eat fast so we can be ready for our races.” Ayu said, picking up her pack.

Chigusa and Gou nodded and the four of them went to have early lunch.

-

“It’s a shame we won’t get to see Makoto-senpai’s and Haruka-senpai’s race, huh?” Gou said, feeling a little bad that Ako and Ayu wouldn’t get to see their brothers swimming when they all got to watch Rin.

Ako smiled. “I’ve been watching Haru compete for a long time. Same goes with Mako.” She and Ayu nodded. “But, this race between them, I have a feeling there’s more to it than teenage sports rivalry.” She laughed.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Chigusa asked, curious now that it looked like Ayu and Ako knew something they didn’t.

“The thing is, Mako and Haru have been in love with each other since they were babies.” Ako choked on a laugh. “In a sense, they’re a lot worse than me and Rin because they’ve been attached to the hip since Haru was about four months old and Mako was a newborn. Whenever we had to get Haru from Makoto’s when they were kids, Haru would have to hug Makoto to stop him from crying.” She explained.

“Ugh, and Makoto was always talking about Haru at home. Still does. His first word was Haru!” Ayu added. She and Ako laughed together. “Mako probably did this because he was jealous of Rin for being something he can't. A rival. A motivator for Haru to swim.” Ayu shook her head. “He's a lot more important to Haru than Rin but of course he doesn't know that.” She rolled her eyes.

“You're right, though. We do wish we could watch if only to support them. But, we’ll be there for Haru and Rin’s heat. I doubt Makoto will want us to witness the slaughter anyway.” Ako explained.

“Would Makoto-Senpai really lose that badly?” Gou asked.

Ayu and Ako exchanged a look. “Mako is a great swimmer but it's like me challenging Ako to a race.” Ayu answered. “Free is Haru’s best event.”

“Besides, Chigusa is up.” Ako gestured to the scoreboard which indeed had Chigusa’s name on it.

Chigusa struggled against the girls of Oga South but in the end, they were freshmen and new to swim meets and Chigusa had been working hard at her breaststroke all summer. “That Kira still creeps me out.” She shivered as she recalled the girl. “I still won, though.” She grinned.

Oga South’s breaststroke swimmer was overly enthusiastic similar to Nagisa but with a creepier vibe. The bright azure haired girl’s golden eyes sparkled excitedly at racing Chigusa who she’d seen in competition last year but hadn’t gotten to race.

If Samezuka didn’t let up against Iwatobi, Oga South was absolutely seething with competitive fury as Ayu stepped up for her own heat side by side with Katsuragi Kaede and Hanazono Elza. And while Kaede was a sweet and hardworking girl, Elza was absolutely ruthless.

Elza also hated Ayu and Ako’s guts for beating her tournament records when they were kids.

“You haven’t changed a bit.” She taunted, her thick pink hair coiled tightly and folded under her swim cap.

Ayu smirked. “Your ego still is as big as your hair. You’ll never make it to the Olympics if you don’t streamline, you know?” She retorted.

Elza sneered. “Neither will you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Your times aren’t nearly good enough to challenge us.” She snickered.

“Maybe, but I’m not planning on going to the Olympics.” Ayu snapped her swim cap on, smiling. “I’ll let Ako do the ass kicking.” She winked.

 

> 1  Tachibana Ayumu  Iwatobi High School
> 
> 2  Hanazono Elza      Oga South High School
> 
> 3  Katsuragi Kaede    Oga South High School

Ayu placed first in both 100 and 200 meter backstroke placing them well ahead of Oga South. Elza’s time managed to qualify for regionals in the 100 meter race but Ayu was far too smug from beating the pinkette to care.

“I tired her out for you.” She joked, nudging Ako.

“I would like to think that I can swim better than Elza without any outside help.” She grinned, waving down as Gou made her way to the starting block for her own heat.

To Ako’s and Ayu’s surprise, Kaede lined up next to Gou for her heat and the sophomore shook Gou’s hand before they both took their places.

“Since when did Kaede swim butterfly?” Ayu muttered more to Ako than anyone.

Ako didn’t answer, just watched intently as Gou took first and just barely overtook Kaede.

“It must be recent, since she couldn’t beat Gou even though she’s pretty much a swim meet veteran by now like us.” Ako reasoned once Gou was adequately congratulated and promptly passed out. She stood up, walking with Ayu down to the pool.

Ayu stared at Ako, concerned. Her 200 meter butterfly event was up and her 100 and 200 meter freestyle would be right before Rin and Haru’s heat but the serious look on Ako’s face was seriously starting to worry her. “You going to be alright, Ako? I could- I could tell Haru you need to rest after all your heats if you need me to.” She offered.

For a second, it looked like Ako might agree but she sighed.

To say that Ako would get first place always seemed like the logical answer. She and Haru were unbeatable in the water. Except when they _are_. Right now, Ako didn’t look like a winner. She looked burdened. More burdened than Ayu had ever seen before.

 _Burdened with glorious purpose_ , she thought.

The Nanase siblings might only be motivated by swimming sometimes but Ako standing there finally finding a calling to pin all her hopes on looked more powerful than she’d ever seen her.

“I can do this.” Ako said, tossing her jacket back and stepping out.

Ayu smirked. “Go get ‘em, Ako.”

Ako got first on both her freestyle heats, her 200 meter butterfly heat, and beat the tournament record for 100 meter freestyle in women’s division. Ayu grinned. She could hear the phones ringing off the hook already all offering Ako places in top teams primed to scout her for the Olympics.

**-**

“ _We are_ **so** _late!_ ” Gou shouted, chasing viciously after Ako who was sprinting ahead of all four girls with one arm linked to Gou as if ferrying her to the other pool area where Rin and Haru would have their heat. “Ako-chan! Hang on-”

Ako breathed in deeply. “Onii-chan!” She shouted, pushing past the double doors that lead to the stands and ramming straight into Tachibana Makoto. “Mako?” She asked, sounding a bit dizzy.

“Ako-chan?” He tilted his head before his eyes lit up in understanding. “Hurry up, they’re starting soon!” He said, ushering them all to the railing next to Nagisa and Rei just in time.

“Oh shoot.” Gou muttered, sharing a look with Ako. “Who are we cheering for?”

Ako’s eyes widened but they don’t have time to pick because the whistle blows so they both yell the first thing that comes to their minds.

“ _Haruuuuuuu!_ ” Everyone screamed together, chanting as soon as Haru and Rin surfaced from their dolphin kick. The fight was close. With every kick Rin and Haru would overtake each other, their competitors were left behind and they both surged forward driven by mutual rivalry.

By the time both of them touched the wall, they ripped off their goggles to look to the scoreboards.

Samezuka and Iwatobi stared at the board in disbelief.

A tie.

Haru and Rin touched the wall at the exact same time.

“Their times…” All the Iwatobis turned to the scoreboard, eyes wide. “The difference is-”

 

> 1  Nanase Haruka  Iwatobi High School
> 
> 2  Matsuoka Rin     Samezuka Academy

“0.02 seconds?!?”

 

* * *

\- _Prefecturals Day 2: Medley Relay_ -

* * *

 

Ako and Ayu walked into the compound with Gou and Chigusa behind them. The men’s medley relay was happening elsewhere and the boys were upset they couldn’t cheer each other on but they had full confidence in the girls’ abilities.

Predictably, lined up next to them was the team from Oga South.

“Huh? You have enough for a team, Nanase?” Maehara Nika grinned.

Ayu grimaced and turned to glare at the girl. Ako held out an arm to stop her from doing something drastic. “It’ll be a privilege to go up against your team in Regionals. After all, you **did** manage to get the final spots after our team beat yours in singles.” She smiled.

“You’ll be eating our spray today, Nanase.” Hanazono Elza intervened, making a grab for Ako.

Ayu stepped forward, catching Elza by the wrist. “We settle this now. You’re not getting to Ako unless you go through me.” She warned. “Backstroke.

“Breaststroke.” Kira and Chigusa exclaimed.

“Butterfly.” Kaede said sheepishly as she spoke at the same time as Gou.

Maehara stepped forward and grinned. “Freestyle. You and me, Nanase.” She said with a smirk.

Ako’s face turned serious and almost taunting, an expression Ayu never sees coming from her except the rare few times she lets herself feel smug about her swimming, the rare few times were always in front of Maehara Nika. “Try to give me a challenge, Ni~ka~” She hummed and stepped away, the whistle blowing signalled the teams to line up.

“Woah, girl.” Ayu smiled, impressed with Ako’s unexpected bout of gusto. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?” She asked.

Ako shrugged. “Nika’s always gotten on my nerves.” She admitted.

Ayu’s face cleared away from confusion. “She’s your Rin!” She exclaimed.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I know what my Rin looks like.” Ako raised a brow at her, blushing.

Ayu rolled her eyes. “You’re like the Haru to her Rin. She’s your mortal enemy.” She shook a fist in the air. “Your rival.” She said before stepping back and hopping into the water.

Ako stared at Ayu from the back and then turned to find Maehara staring at her. “Huh, I guess she is.”

One thing was for sure, they were going to take Oga South _down_.

The adrenaline was already pumping the moment Ayu and Elza pushed off from the wall and started paddling back. Oga South was cheering and practically screeching with effort but Iwatobi had numbers on their side. By numbers, they meant that a few girls from Iwatobi along with Miss Amakata were there. It was really unfortunate that the boys couldn’t cheer, but Ayu was confident. By the time she reached the other end of the pool, her kick put her ahead of Elza.

“Hana-chan!” She shouted, Chigusa diving in even before she let out a shout.

Chigusa put up a real fight against Kira but even with the advantage Kira was a sensation in the swimming world. In the end, their advantage lessened but Chigusa still touched the wall ahead of Kira, leaving Kaede to face off against Gou.

Kaede was a bit of a Jack of All Trades Master of None. She did a great backstroke and a better breaststroke but her butterfly training was recent, maybe even more recent than Gou. Which means they aren’t all that surprised that Gou finished just a little ahead of Kaede.

“Ako!” Gou screamed, grinning when she turned only to find Ako hit the water before Oga South’s Captain. Ayu pulled her out of the pool and they all cheered.

They won with a margin of one and a half second to Oga South.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi High School_ -

* * *

 

Makoto’s timing was way off at the start. Nagisa didn’t extend himself like he usually did in his second half. Rei didn’t take advantage of Sousuke slowing down near the end. Haru couldn’t go faster than Rin.

There were many ways to pin blame but it didn’t change the fact that the boys lost to Samezuka.

“At least they put up an actual sign this time.” Ayu sighed, staring up at the banner fluttering against the side of the school building. “Even if the boys barely made the cut for regionals.”

“Swimming’s gotten real competitive while they were off sulking.” Ako nodded.

Ayu stared at her friend. There was something about how Ako didn’t get her usual hair cut and the way she walked with her back straight and chin up and the look in her eyes these days that made her feel that Ako’s become a bit different. Like Ako, Haru was showing the same signs but for some reason it looked bad on Haru. Ayu figures it’s because Ako’s found purpose and that it’s helping her mature. Haru… she didn’t want to make assumptions about Haru.

But, there was no denying that he’s been struggling.

Iwatobi stomped Oga South but Gou and Chigusa’s times were the same as the boys, barely there, which is why they were all at practice together early.

While Gou was admonishing everyone for their terrible times, Amakata scurried in wheezing and nearly coughing from running. “Big news!” She shouted which weirdly reminded Ako of Hanayo from Love Live. “We just got a call from a scout for Nanase-kun!”

All eyes turned to both Nanase siblings who then looked at each other.

“Haru?” Ako asked at the same time Haru said “Ako?”.

“Both of you, actually. He said he saw Nanase-kun’s 100-meter Freestyle event against Matsuoka and all of Ako-san’s races.” She explained. “There is interest in Ayu-san’s race against Hanazono Elza too.”

“Well, I’m going into science so thanks but no thanks.” Ayu shrugged. “That’s great for you though, Ako!” She patted Ako on the back.

Ako continued to stare up at Haru and took his hand. “Onii-”

Before she could finish, Haru squeezed her hand once and then let go, diving into the pool.

Ako’s phone started buzzing where it rested on her towel off to the side. She picked it up, still staring worriedly at Haru until she realized it was a text not a call.

It was from Ai.

 

> _Rin-senpai just got a lot of calls from scouts! I bet you did too, Ako-san! Come to practice later so we can talk about it. I bet Rin-senpai would love to see you. :) - Nitori_

Shutting her phone off, Ako turned back to the pool with a smile. Maybe she would pay them a short visit. See if Momo’s been improving and if Ai was clocking in times that were fast enough to be in Samezuka’s Medley Relay.

 

* * *

\- _Samezuka, Indoor Pool_ -

* * *

 

When one hears Rin yelling, it’s best not to intervene lest it get out of hand. But really, did he and Sousuke always have to yell it out? It’s one thing for them to actually have some kind of problem but yelling because Rin doesn’t think Sousuke is serious about swimming? Hilarious and tragic since Sousuke is serious about pretty much everything. Rin should know.

Ako stepped up to the starting block, feeling more at ease than she’s felt in a while. Man, she’s missed Samezuka. She breathed in. “Ready, Ai?” She asked with a smile, snapping on her goggles. Ai nodded at her and they both took their marks waiting for Momo to blow the whistle.

Ai’s breaststroke is improving. It’s not really Ako’s stroke but he’s keeping up instead of lagging.

More scouts will call, fights will erupt, and times will be recorded. In the pool, next to Ai, Ako tilted her head and took a deep breath. Right now, her and the water had an understanding that transcended everything.

And when she opened her eyes, Rin was in the next lane catching up to them with a swift front crawl.

Ako smirked. With about a 60-meter lead, she could win. Changing her stroke, Ako started paddling swiftly and efficiently passing Rin at the turn. She touched the wall and stood up, breathing in and out in a swift cadence only to find Rin turning and going for another lap. “Hey! I thought we were doing 100 meters!” She yelled, shaking her head as the rest of the team who wasn’t in the pool started laughing.

Pulling herself out of the pool, she watched dumbly as a hand dropped down in front of her to help her up. “Careful. You might slip.” Sousuke grabbed hold of her arm and leaned back.

Ako opened her mouth to say thank you but instead caught the faint twitch of his shoulder and the grimace that followed. “Does Rin know?” She asked.

Sousuke gave her a look like he had no idea what she was talking about.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Sou.” She smiled. “I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to. But, you can tell _me_.” She suggested.

And Sousuke really did look like he was thinking about her suggestion. “Are you free tomorrow morning?” He asked.

“I’ll make time.” She answered.


	18. Episode 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ako’s got a dirty little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy BURRthd-ayyyyyy to my Partner in Crime and Light of My Life, Luna~ 
> 
> This past... year? (Omg) has been the best of my life.

**EPISODE 8**

\- _Hospital_ -

* * *

 

  
Ako wasn’t surprised when she found herself waiting outside the office of a Physical Therapist. Sousuke hadn’t said much on their way to the hospital but she gathered that he had an appointment for his strained shoulder. Though, given that it looked like he had frequent appointments, it was probably more serious than strain.  
  
Therefore, it had to be some kind of swimming injury.  
  
The rest was pretty self explanatory. It must have happened after he got scouted because no way would he have gotten scouted off a bad shoulder. They would have immediately put him off their lists when he came in for his required check-up.  
  
It was on the plastic chairs outside the doctor’s office that he spilled his guts to her, telling her about how he pushed himself too hard, how he’d watched the boys’ relay in regionals, and how he decided he wanted to have that. A relay, with Rin.  
  
“He has that effect.” Ako joked, feeling pride swelling in her chest. She only has more reason to love Rin with every passing day.  
  
“You’re biased because you’re in love with him. Try being his roommate, he’s bossy and a neat freak.” Sousuke retorted and they both laughed until he had to go in for his appointment. She could go on denying it forever but sitting there with Sou and sharing secrets with him, she felt it was okay to stop pretending for a while.  
  
Ako isn’t surprised by any of this but she is surprised to see Kisumi. Especially since the pinkette looks like he should be in the emergency ward rather than the Physical Therapy wing. “Kisumi!” She pipes. “Basketball injury?” She presumes because again it’s a Physical Therapy ward.  
  
“Oh! Nanase. Haru’s younger sister, right? Yeah, I messed my hand up.” He laughed sheepishly. “Swimming injury?” He asked.  
  
Drat. She hoped he wouldn’t remember her. “Nope. Just getting myself checked up, scouting requirement. Need a Doctor to tell them I’m healthy as a horse.” She lied smoothly. When she said she wouldn’t tell anyone about Sousuke she meant it god damn it.

“I see, well I hope your check up is a success!” Kisumi smiled amicably, his voice had an edge of wariness in it that worried Ako. Thankfully, he started to back away. “Tell Haru and Makoto to shoot me a text sometime!” He said with a wave.

Ako forced a tight smile. “I will!” She waved back and waited until the older boy was gone before slumping into the plastic seat she’d been occupying. “That was too close-”

The door next to her opened and Sousuke stepped out, peering down at Ako curiously. “Nanase?” He asked. “Is there something wrong?” He went on, looking around for the threat.

Ako thought about not telling him but it would only put them in worse situations if she kept it to herself so she came clean about Kisumi being there.

“I see.” Sousuke nodded, sitting next to her.

Ako tilted her head. “What do we do about him?” She muttered.

“Nothing. There’s little chance he’d see anyone from Samezuka and it looks like your brother doesn’t like him very much anyway.” He said with a shrug.

“Oh, he never did give Mako the slip with Kisumi’s number.” Ako laughed softly. “He really… really loves Haru.” She leaned back, looking at the ceiling.

Sousuke mirrored her movements, staring up at the ceiling. “Rin cares about you.” He said in a low voice.

Ako smiled, reaching a hand up to the air. “I know.” Reaching up to the light, she balled her hand into a fist. “But, that’s not important right now. This dream is.” She shrugged, turning so she was facing Sousuke. “And Ayu should know about your shoulder.”

Sousuke let out a hushed laugh. “There’s no point letting her know.”

“Then...” Ako shook her head. “We’re not that different after all, Sou-chan.”

 

* * *

_\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi Swim Club -_

* * *

 

“Is everyone here?”

Ayu watched from off to the side while Makoto shyly introduced himself to the kids. She’d gotten the feeling that Makoto would be looking to other options for careers, not wanting to take up swimming as seriously as Rin did or as he thought Haru might. Coaching kids seemed to be a good fit for him, so she’d suggested he take up the coaching job Sasabe was looking to fill.

“Uh, um-” Makoto stuttered but found his composure pretty quickly. “I’m Tachibana Makoto, I’ll be helping coach you starting today.” He introduced himself.

The group of kids, who Ayu has been observing, got closer together and greeted him back. Eyeing the shy and scared looking kid in the center, Ayu stepped forward to take her place next to Makoto. Shedding her jacket to reveal her matching uniform swim suit, she crouched down and smiled reassuringly at the familiar pink haired child.

“And I’m Tachibana Ayu.” She reached out to shake the kid’s hand and then smiled brightly at the rest of the class. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The kids laughed and grinned up at her. “Please take care of us, Ayu-nee!”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi High School -_

* * *

 

“It’s kind of adorable.” Ako stared up at the sky, for once having reached the swimming pool before Haru she started stretching before her laps. “And it makes sense too since both You and Mako are good with kids.” She admitted.

Ayu hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah.”

Ako stopped stretching and faced her childhood friend. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

Ayu, noticing she had worried Ako, shook her head and smiled. “It’s nothing, Ako. Go back to your stretches.” She insisted.

“As if I’d fall for that.” Ako rolled her eyes, a motion that reminded Ayu a lot of Rin. “We both know that Mako wasn’t going to pursue swimming professionally. I think Haru hasn’t thought far enough into the future and he’ll struggle more with the decision than Mako.” She sighed, sitting down on the edge of the pool. “I know you’re worried about Mako… because I’m worried about Haru.”

Ayu stepped forward and gently knocked on Ako’s head. “Your idiot brother is going to swim. I know he is.” She said with a smile, ruffling Ako’s hair. It was getting longer now and she’d need a haircut soon unless she wants to grow it out.

“And your idiot brother is going to stay in Japan, probably to coach.” With a groan, Ako kicked at the water in the pool. “Guh, Haru’s not going to want to go anywhere without Mako. What’ll he do when he finds out Mako is staying back?” She whined, her body freezing up.

Ayu wonders if she’s still talking about Makoto and Haru.

“How is Sousuke doing?” She asked, cursing internally at how he’d been the first to come to mind when thinking of something to steer the subject away from Makoto and Haru’s romantic drama.

Ako stiffened and Ayu felt worry welling up in her gut as the silence dragged on. “He’s decided to train Ai, from what I’ve heard.” Ako shrugs but it’s half-hearted. Ako looks nervous like she knows something and it’ making her skin crawl.

“Did Rin tell you that?” Ayu encouraged, sitting next to Ako. But, again, the name makes her freeze up and altogether look very uncomfortable. It’s almost enough to make Ayu want to sprint over to Samezuka and ask them what they did to the younger Nanase.

“Ai did.” She smiled. Ai seemed like the only Samezuka member she could think of fondly at the moment. “The pain hasn’t really eased up since…”

Since she almost confessed.

Ayu knows it’s not her place to comment with how her relationship is going with Sousuke but she can’t help the sigh of displeasure that leaves her mouth.

Thankfully, they don’t have time to say anything more because the boys arrive with Chigusa and Gou. Practice is a welcome relief.

 

-

 

Their routine starts to change when Ayu and Mako start walking to the ISCR while the Nanases walk home together. Ako still has training with Rei on the way to school on Thursdays and he walks her home on Wednesdays because they insist that their friendship will never die. Makoto doesn’t teach on Wednesdays so he can walk home with Haru.

That same kid that was shy and scared from the start, Hayato, still hasn’t opened up despite Ayu zeroing in on him. It looked like he was interested whenever Makoto explained something but he’d always lose all enthusiasm when faced with the practical bits like floating and actual swimming.

So, Ayu’s on her own on Wednesday when Kisumi comes to pick up his brother.

“Shigino Kisumi?!” Makoto exclaims the next day.

Ayu snorts as Haru accidentally crushes his juice box and Ako scrambles to hand him a towel. “Well, he’s one of our students’ older brother. You know Hayato.” Both Tachibanas sigh. “But hey, Haru. If you have time to come over to the ISC, I think Kisumi might be around on Sunday.” Ayu grinned.

Haru glares balefully at Ayu and mutters. “Only if I have time.”

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi Swim Club -_

* * *

 

Haru, of course, arrives bearing a bento. For some reason, this shocks Makoto. Ayu is amused but also exasperated and wishes Ako at least had come with Haru to alleviate the pain of watching their brothers interact.

“You forgot your lunch.” Haru placed the bento in Mako’s hands. “Your mom asked me to bring it to you.”

Ayu stifles a laugh. “Nice move, Nii-chan. Oka-san.” She muttered to herself, proud of how sneaky her family could be when they wanted to be. Sensing that Makoto was going to confide in Haru about Hayato, Ayu decided to leave Makoto and Haru to their own devices while she made sure everything was ready for when the kids arrived.

“Oh, actually.” She murmured, pulling her phone out of her pocket to text Ako.

**Are you staying at home today?**

As expected, Ako replied quickly, not even giving Ayu a chance to shut her phone off.

       **Going to help Sousuke to Coach Ai.**

Ayu frowned at the screen. Ako had expressed that she didn’t want to go to Samezuka at all until after the competitions. She’d have expected her to be running or doing some other work out.

 **Well, say hi to Rin for me.** She replied, still hoping that maybe if she pushes enough then they would resolve their issues.

Ako, for the first time ever, doesn’t reply.

Ayu can’t bring herself to ask about it. By then, she’s busy trying to stop Haru from murdering Kisumi when he catches him and Makoto hanging out alone near the bike racks.

Kisumi’s first instinct - being the touchy person he was - is to drape himself all over Haru and reminisce about middle school, poking fun at Haru about how lonely he was when Rin left. The Tachibana pair wince at that. Thankfully, Haru doesn’t look all that angry about it.

“You went to the same grade school as Ayu and Rin, right?” Makoto asked, trying to ease Kisumi’s attention off of Haru.

Ayu sighed. “I’d just forgotten all about it.”

“Aw, don’t be like that Ayu.” Kisumi wiggled his eyebrows. “So did Sousuke-”

“Mako, it’s getting late.” Ayu cut in, pulling on his sleeve.

Makoto - bless his soul - only nodded and said goodbye to Kisumi before walking home with them in silence.

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi High School -_

* * *

 

“How’s Hayato? He learn how to swim yet?” Ako inquires quietly the next day before practice. At the other side of the pool, the boys plus Gou seem to be chatting about the same thing. Ayu could easily join them but she feels like she hasn’t spent time with Ako in ages.

With a sigh, Ayu tells her all about how scared Hayato is and the story Kisumi told Makoto. It’s distressing, especially since she feels like their part-time work at the ISC would be coming to an end soon.

Ako looks up at her shortly after she’s finished telling her everything and with a familiar patient look beams at Ayu. “I think Mako can handle it.” She said, as if it was the answer to everything.

“I don’t doubt he can, but-” Ayu muttered, fiddling with her goggles worriedly.

Ako took her hands in both of hers. “If anyone can convince a child who is afraid of swimming to do it anyway, it’s a child who _was_ afraid to swim.”

Ayu lets the relief wash over her and Ako’s words strengthen her resolve. “Yeah, yeah. I guess.” She pulled on Ako’s hands and wrapped her arms around the younger girl in a warm hug. “I’m glad I got to be your childhood friend, Ako.” She admits, smiling when Ako pulls Ayu closer.

“I’m glad too.” Ako nodded. And if her voice was a little shaky at the admission, Ayu doesn’t mention it.

Ako watches Ayu walking with Makoto later that day to head to the ISC and pulls out her cellphone.

**You know I won’t tell anyone. But, if Ayu asks… I’m not lying to her.**

Ako bites her lip and sends the text to Sou. She receives the reply later that night.

       **Fair. It’s the same for me but about Rin.**

Ako shakes her head and types out a short reply before falling asleep.

       **Hah, I doubt he doesn’t already know.**

 

* * *

  _\- Iwatobi, Iwatobi Swim Club -_

* * *

 

When their teaching stint ends, it hits Makoto the hardest.

Sure, Ayu’s gotten attached to the kids. They all want her to swing by and teach them more swimming techniques. She’s going to miss Hayato and the way he sometimes hid behind Ayu when he was too scared to join an activity or held onto her when he was giddy about his success.

One thing she won’t miss is Kisumi getting in the way of her precious OTP.

“I heard it’s your last day.” Kisumi says addressing them both but his eyes are only on Makoto and it makes Ayu want to tear his bubblegum pink hair out. He ought to be grateful that the way Haru glares at him is entertainment that will keep Ayu grinning for the next week.

Ayu snaps out of it when Mako boasts that all three of them are headed to regionals. Not one to pass up an opportunity to boast about her own Nanase, Ayu grins at Mako. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ako made it all the way to Nationals.” She snickers.

“Oh! Haru’s sister? I saw her at the hospital the other day! How are her prospective sponsors?” Kisumi asked, not noticing the way all three Iwatobi High students turned to stare at him incredulously.

“At the… hospital.” Makoto muttered.

Ayu turned to Haru. “Haru?”

Haru shook his head. “I don’t…” His eyes went down to his feet, head hanging in shame. It’s clear he wasn’t aware of it either. With a speed Haru only used to get to a pool, Haru turned and sped home, leaving a pair of puzzled Tachibanas alone with Kisumi.

“Was it something I said?” Kisumi asked, breaking the silence.

Makoto turned to Ayu as if expecting her to fly out the door behind Haru.

“I’ll ask her tomorrow.” Ayu said.

There was no point now, they still had to finish up their work. Haru would ask her. No doubt he was probably caking on question after question at that very moment. When Ako was finished with her hurried explanations, Ayu would ask her for the whole story. There was no need to rush it. Besides, she’d seen Ako earlier that day so she was fine.

And if Ako was fine then how bad could it be?


	19. Episode 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke is the unluckiest bastard to ever live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Happy Birthday. After I posted Ep8, I happened upon some inspiration and the story is almost finished. The power of my love for Luna I guess huehuehue. <3

**EPISODE 9**

\- _Iwatobi, Nanase House_ -

* * *

  

Haru was furious. No, not really furious, he was frantic. When Kisumi said those words, his mind went into a flurry of panic and he’d left without even thinking. All he could think of was that Ako was at the hospital. That she’d gone to hospital and _didn’t tell him_. And really, that could mean any number of things. It could be a sudden cold, astigmatism, a sprain or god forbid a _swimming injury_ , she could be-

Haru shook his head. No, she couldn’t possibly be pregnant. Not at her age. Haru will _kill_ whoever is responsible.

But before he could think of who the father of her fictional child would be, he’s standing in front of Ako’s room and throwing the door open making it slam loudly against the wall.

Ako, who had heard Haru coming, turned to greet him warmly and winced at the sound of her door slamming. “Nii-chan, w-welcome home?” She greeted, dropping the towel she was using to dry her hair.

Haru stared at her, his eyes going down to her stomach which thankfully looked as trim as ever. Having seen that she was okay, the tension in his slightly larger frame left in one fell swoop and Haru sat numbly next to his sister on her bed.

“Haru?” She called out softly, concern laced in the soothing tone she’d inherited from their mom. “Is everything okay?”

“No.” He said, surprising himself with his honesty.

Honesty, right. He shouldn’t be surprised. Haru and Ako always dealt with each other honestly. If there’s something that needs to be said then all Haru needs to do is ask. It’s that simple.

It feels like one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do.

Ako stared at him and it occurred to him that she was waiting for him to explain his earlier answer. With a sigh, Haru reached up to pat at her damp hair. “Dry your hair properly, you’ll catch a cold.” He complained before pulling her towards him and holding a hand out for the towel.

Dropping the white and blue porpoise towel in his hand, Ako rolled her eyes. “That’s rich coming from the guy who needs Mako to dry his hair for him after he swims.” She teased.

Haru rubbed at her head in a vaguely noogie-like motion in retaliation, smiling when Ako cried out for mercy. They both fall into comfortable silence. Haru focuses on drying her hair for a while until its mostly dry before breathing in deeply.

“What were you doing at the hospital?” He asks.

Ako is calm for once, a Nanase trait that seemed to manifest late for her, and the only thing that confirms she’d heard what he said was a low sigh. “Who told you?” She asked, sounding a bit relieved that the secret was out.

“Ideally, you.” He huffed.

“Was it Kisumi?” She prodded with a huff of her own.

Haru’s silence is telling.

With a short burst of laughter, Ako pulled the towel away from Haru and moved to hang it out on her balcony before returning to the bed, this time facing her older brother. “I went to the hospital to support Sousuke.” She explained calmly and succinctly. It almost made Haru wonder if she _rehearsed_ that.

“What about Rin?” Haru asks without thinking and instantly regrets it.

Ako doesn’t flinch and Haru feels a burst of pride at her strength. “Sousuke didn’t want him or anyone to know. Didn’t even want me to know, I just-” With a sympathetic smile, she pulled her shark plush – the one he’d gotten when Rin left for Australia – into her arms. “I just caught him in a moment of weakness. His shoulder isn’t in top shape. He goes to a Physical Therapist for check ups and exercises. I’m not sure he’ll ever recover enough to swim professionally.”

Haru bites back a wince. It _does_ sound terrible.

“I’m guessing Ayu heard from Kisumi too?” Ako asked, resigned to her fate.

“I can tell her to leave it be.” Haru offers. “Or to ask Yamazaki-”

Ako’s phone is in her hand in a flash, editing one of her drafted messages and sending it to Sousuke.

       **Haru knows. Kisumi tattled. Ayu will ask tomorrow. I’m not lying to her.**

Sousuke answers quickly.

       **Thanks for the heads up.**

“I already told Sousuke that if Ayu finds out I won’t lie to her.” She tossed her phone to the side and draped herself across Haru’s lap. “Are you angry?” She asked, still hugging the shark.

 _‘That’s not fair’_ Haru thinks. His vision blurs and he remembers Ako when she was smaller. Back then, she’d drape herself over Haru any time she wanted something or felt bad or had a bad day at school. Looking at her now, not much has changed besides her height.

With a sigh, Haru pulled Ako’s laptop towards them and flipped it open so they could watch a movie. “I’m just glad you’re not pregnant. Whatever Yamazaki is going through is miniscule in comparison.” He quipped, smirking when Ako flails and screeches in shock.

‘ _Stay small for a little while longer_ ’ Haru thinks, shutting his eyes and praying while Ako sings to the opening bars of Gospel Truth.

 

-

 

When Ako saw Ayu waiting for her the next morning after her run, Ako wanted to tell her as soon as possible to proverbially rip off the band aid. So, the first thing that she said was-

“Sousuke has a bad shoulder.”

The look of horror on Ayu’s face clued Ako in to the fact that maybe that wasn’t the best approach.

“I mean, he’s got a bad shoulder. Has had one for a while, swimming injury. He pushed himself too hard. I noticed when I last visited Samezuka to tutor Ai before Sousuke took over. He helped me out of the pool and I saw how badly he flinched when he used his bad shoulder.” She blurted out in a steady stream of chatter. “I told him I’d support him if he needed someone to go with him to get checked and I went with him to the hospital. But, I also told him I wouldn’t lie to you if you somehow found out. So…”

Ayu’s face is blank, it’s the first time Ako can’t read her expression. “I see.” She started walking, stopping when she realized Ako wasn’t next to her. “Hey, lets go. We’ll be late for school.” She smiled faintly, beckoning Ako over.

Ako jogged towards her, settling into their usual pace. Their feet aren’t in sync that day like they usually were and Ako is too scared to point it out.

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

 

Sousuke was in a good mood that evening until Ako’s text came in. He’d seen that Ai had made some significant progress, more progress than he had under Ako’s and Rin’s tutelage which he was going to passively comment about when he got the chance.

He was going to comment on it that morning when Momo asked to be coached but then he remembered that he’d have to face Ayu’s wrath soon.

The very thought made him flinch.

“Something you want to talk about, Sou?” Rin piped up from where he was sitting on the bench drying his hair.

Sousuke contemplated telling him for a second, his mouth opening but failing to form the words. He shakes his head instead and smiles. “Just mourning the sleep I’ll lose coaching Mikoshiba.”

The indignant yell that Momo makes breaks the tension and Sousuke lives to pretend another day.

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Iwatobi Highschool_ -

* * *

 

“Haru’s working really hard these days. Isn’t he?” Ayu probed. Ako hasn’t been all that responsive since her talk with Haru and was even less so after Ayu found out what it was she was at the hospital for, probably to give Ayu space.

Not that Ayu needed it. Ako was only there to support Sousuke as a friend. A friend who’d noticed he was hurting. 

‘ _A friend who noticed before I did._ ’ The knowledge made Ayu want to wince. It hurt that she hadn’t realized sooner that Sousuke was in pain. But, the ache in her heart was because Sou hadn’t told Rin… that he hadn’t told _her_.

Her pain had nothing to do with Ako. Not when Ako was only being _Ako_.

At the mention of her brother, Ako brightened. “Yeah, he’ll place well for sure.” With a blush, she seemed to realize how that sounded. “Not that he has to. I just-” Looking over at Haru who was practicing exchanges with Rei. “I want him to have fun and he has the most fun when he’s swimming.” She finishes with a grin.

“But-”

Ayu turns to Ako, surprised that she has more to say.

“If swimming isn’t what Haru wants for the future then I’ll protect his wishes.” She says with a resolve that always inspires Ayu. “Is that a strange thing to say?” Ako rubs at the back of her neck sheepishly.

“It sounds like an Ako thing to say.” Ayu winks.

Ako yells in protest. “Are you saying I’m strange, Ayu-chan? Rude!” She jokes, splashing Ayu playfully.

“G-Guidance Counsellor! Principal! We’re sorry, we were just getting ready to leave!” Amakata’s pleas brought their attention to the two administrators observing them.

“No, you’re fine.” The guidance counsellor waved placating as the principal’s gaze wanders until they reach Haru.

Ako wades over to her brother’s side, sensing the seriousness of their arrival, Ayu not far behind her. “To what do we owe the pleasure, principal-san?” She mutters skeptically, her nose twitching when Ayu jabs at her to get her to behave.

“Ah, actually, Nanase-kun and Nanase-san, we’ve heard about the scouts asking after you. We came to say that we’re very impressed, you both are the pride of our school.” The principal’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled down at them. “We’re all looking forward to your performance at regionals. Give it your all!”

Haru’s head tilted down and the defeated slope of his chin made Ako boil with anger.

“Okay-” Haru nodded half-heartedly.

“If you think trying to push us with words like _‘pride of our school’_ and _‘we’re looking forward to your performance’_ then you’re not a very effective educator.” Ako cut in, ignoring the appalled stares she got from everyone apart from Haru and the Principal who was just shocked at her sudden display of hostility. “You should know more than all of us that we’re allowed to make our own choices, even if our choice is not to swim after all. Even if we choose to quit. And those choices, while irrational or illogical, should be respected.”

“Ako!” Ayu reached forward to make a grab for the girl but she already lifted herself out of the pool and stood in front of the principal with her chin held high.

“With all due respect,” Ako bowed. “Don’t make assumptions about people you don’t know… **sir**.” She walked past the two administrators, slinging her bag and jacket over her shoulder as she left.

“I’m so sorry, Mister Principal, Guidance Counsellor.” Amakata bowed frantically. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that, the pressure they are feeling must be affecting her-”

The Principal bowed to her in return and then to Haru who was still staring at the door where he’d watched his sister leave pondering whether or not it was okay to ditch practice to go after her. Ako’s medley team was done for the night but his wasn’t.

“It wasn’t my intention to manipulate you, though she is correct that I was hoping for your success without considering your decision. For this, I give my sincere apologies to both yourself and your sister, Nanase-kun.” With a more genuine smile now, he nodded. “I wish you luck on whichever path you wish to take.”

Haru returns his genuine smile with a smile of his own. “Thank you.”

 

* * *

\- _Regionals, Hotel_ -

* * *

 

The hotel is unexpectedly larger and much grander this time around. 

Ako and Ayu come out last, the feeling of tournaments from when they were younger. “It’s nostalgic, isn’t it?” Ayu smiles, turning her head down, blue eyes meeting her own. “Ready to kick ass?” She asked, raising her fist.

Pressing her fist against Ayu’s, Ako grinned. “Always.”

“Huh, Ako?”

Ako’s face turned bright red as she turned around, smacking right into Rin’s chest. “Oh wow, we need to stop meeting like…” Ako raised a palm against Rin’s chest to push him away and only succeeded in turning an even brighter shade of red. “Someone worked out.” She muttered before jumping back in embarrassment.

“Rin.” Haru, with everyone else following him, turned back and stood next to Ako successfully hiding his sister behind him.

“Ah, so you guys were here too, Haru.” Rin said, looking a little red-faced himself.

Nagisa leapt forward, greeting Ai enthusiastically much to everyone’s amusement. Ako let out a sigh of relief, maybe it wouldn’t be a complete disaster after all.

Except, Matsuoka Gou happens.

“That reminds me, Ako-chan!” She smiles. “And Sousuke-kun! I saw you guys at the train station near our house the other day. What were you up to?” She probed, completely oblivious to the way Sousuke’s eyes widened and Rin turned to stare at his best friend in shock.

‘ _Crap. Gou, I never suspected she might see._ ’ Ako nearly winced. “Ah, Gou-chan, I’ll-” Her eyes moved over to Sousuke to silently ask if it was fine to tell Gou when there was a chance she could tell Rin but Momo got in between them asking for Gou’s attention.

Before long, Rin is dragging Momo away from his sister – god bless his protective tendencies – and calling for his team to follow.

Ayu pulls on her sleeve and points at people around the lobby.

Scouts. And they were looking at Haru.

“Uh, Nii-chan, I think we should stay in the hotel for tonight. I’ll go out with Amakata-sensei to get food.” She suggested, sending a pleading look to Amakata who relented.

Ako knows she can’t protect Haru from them forever, but she would do her best to keep them at bay for as long as she can.

 

-

 

Sousuke, again, can’t bring himself to feel relieved when Ai is chosen for the medley relay team. Sure, he’s happy for him. He understands Ai’s desire to swim with Rin, it’s the same desire that brought hope back into his life after the accident with his shoulder. But, now he can feel Rin’s piercing gaze and he knows he can’t keep it a secret for much longer because it’s not just him on the line.

Ako’s involved now and that spells the end of this secret.

“So…” Rin starts.

Sousuke almost tells him all about it then and there. “I’m-”

“You and Ako?” Rin gives him a painful looking smile. “Can’t say I expected that.” He teases, bumping his arm into Sousuke’s chest in a motion that seems mildly passive aggressive.

And why the hell would Rin ever expect it? It’s hilariously wrong.

Still, Sousuke sends a silent apology to Ako and makes a vague noise that could mean anything but Rin takes it as affirmation.

“You better watch out for her or Haru will kill you.” Rin laughed, it doesn’t sound even a little convincing and Sousuke hates this, hates lying to Rin, hates himself.

Yeah, sure. _Haru_ will kill him. Sousuke is more afraid of Rin than him at this point.

“Hey.” Rin extends his fist out and for a split second Sousuke thinks he’s going to punch him and dodges. “I’m not going to hit you- I’m.” Rin laughs again and Sousuke smiles at the mirth in his best friend’s eyes. “Let’s swim so we’ll have no regrets tomorrow.”

Sousuke grins and bumps his fist against Rin’s. “That goes without saying, dork.”

 

-

 

Ako pushes past the hotel room door, Haru’s towel along with some of his things in her arms. “Haru, you forgot to put your towel in your-” She froze and nearly dropped his things when she very nearly bumped into Rin, yet again. “Oops, I did it again.” She hummed jokingly and then noticed the seriousness emanating from the two seniors. “I barged in on something.”

“I was just here to ask Haru what his plans were.” Rin says in a nonchalant voice but Ako knows what he means.

“Well, since he isn’t here, he’s probably walking around somewhere.” She explained, biting back the worried tone she usually took whenever she couldn’t predict where Haru was. “A lot happened today that he has to reflect on.”

“I can see that.” Rin paused in front of her and opened his mouth several times. “I heard from Sousuke.” He said in a hushed tone that was uncharacteristic of Rin except when he was in angst mode.

Ako frowned, reaching out to pat Rin’s arm sympathetically. “Are you okay?” She asked.

Rin blinked at her and laughed, shaking away her hand and ruffling her hair. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He smiled brightly but something about it was off, something about the curve of his lip and how his teeth didn’t really show. “I’m happy for you.” He said in a serious tone before walking past Ako. “Don’t stay up too late. I want to see you at Nationals!”

Makoto and Ako shared a look of confusion. “I’m… happy for you.” They both muttered.

Ako whipped out her phone and texted Sousuke with trembling fingers.

       **WHAT DID YOU TELL RIN? AND WHY IS HE “HAPPY FOR ME”?**

 

- 

 

Sousuke stared numbly at the text that arrived shortly after his run in with Haru. First, the older Nanase, then the younger, what next?

“When did you plan on telling me?”

Sousuke turned around to face the all too familiar voice. He had truly meant to avoid her as long as possible. However, it seemed it was time to face her.

“It’s none of your business. It doesn’t concern you in any way.”

Ayu’s eyes hardened, obviously not accepting that.

“None of my business? How exactly is it none of my business? Did you forget we were friends?”

“Exactly, we _were_ friends. If I recall correctly we haven’t talked in years.”

A hurt look crossed Ayu’s face. She couldn’t help but bail her fists.

“Don’t you dare try to put the blame on me, Souske. You were the one who suddenly stopped replying to all my letters and texts. Hell, when I went to visit you, you didn’t even bother to answer the door.”

Sousuke’s eyes widened at that. He truly hadn’t been home when she came to visit. He honestly didn’t know what would’ve happened had he been there. In reality, when it came to Ayu, his resolve was close to crumbling. He just wanted to tell her everything and make things right again.

But there was something keeping him from that. Call it pride or shame, he just couldn’t face her again after all these years. In a way, he hadn’t changed from when they were kids. Even then, Ayu had the power to make him regret anything if she was persistent enough. The next time he spoke, he was yelling.

“Why exactly does it matter so much to you? It’s not your shoulder that’s failing, it’s _mine_. I’m the one who will never be able to swim again. I’m the one who lost my whole future because of an injury.”

He barely finished when Ayu yelled out.

“I care because I love you!”

The girl was standing in front of him, tears starting to fall. When Sousuke said nothing, she lowered her arm and cast her eyes downwards. 

“And don’t ever think your future can’t change. The only reason why it might not change is because you’re too stubborn and always dwelling on the past.” She pushed past him, heading back to her room. 

Sousuke was left standing in the hallway, his eyes starting to fill with tears as well. He had truly ruined all chances of becoming friends with her again, hadn’t he?

 

* * *

\- _Regionals, Individual_ -

* * *

 

Yet again, Sousuke finds himself thinking about Ako’s angry texts before he enters the pool for warm-ups and to Ayu’s words. The thought chases after him as he dives in after Ai and he can feel the guilt welling up.

‘ _Why? Why didn’t I just tell Rin? Why was I so passive and stubborn? Is this race more important than their relationship? Was it more important than mine with Ayu-_ ’ It’s in the middle of that thought that Sousuke feels a twinge of pain the puts off his timing and when he looks up its at Rin’s worried face.

“Something wrong, Sousuke?” He asks.

Everything is wrong. But, he can’t tell Rin that. He’s in too deep. He has to tell him. “I’ll tell you after your race.” He stares into Rin’s eyes and hopes he doesn’t ask any more questions.

And because Rin knows when Sousuke wants him to stop, he doesn’t ask any more questions.

Sousuke lets himself feel relieved… up until Nanase Haruka stops in the middle of his freestyle race and gets disqualified.

 

-

 

Rin is angry beyond words. Regionals was not going at all like he thought it would. Sousuke was keeping secrets from him. Makoto looked like he was thinking about quitting swimming. But the ultimate blow was Haru getting disqualified.

Watching Haru lose the will to swim made Rin feel more hopeless than ever before and he’d already felt the strands of uncertainty in the back of his mind.

Rin’s frustration at Haru and at the whole mess before him is what drives him to run after the older Nanase and demand answers.

“What do you think you were doing? Why the hell did you do that?” He asks as calmly as he can but he’s not Haru or Ako so it comes our harshly no matter what he does.

“It has nothing to do with you.” Haru says plainly and it’s true.

But, Rin can’t accept that as an answer because he doesn’t understand and he wants to understand why nothing seems to be making any sense anymore. “This was an important match with all the scouts watching-”

“What do I care about that?” Haru retorts. “Because scouts were watching? So I can set records in front of a crowd? None of that… is what I swim for.”

Rin feels the words pierce deeply into his heart. He thinks of Makoto, of Nagisa and Rei, of Ai and Momo and Ayu and Sou and _Ako_. “Then, what do you swim for?” He asks again, letting go of Haru’s jacket.

“I swim for my friends and for myself.” He says but Rin hears how brittle his reasoning is and it makes him even more frustrated.

“Then swim for those friends and for your own sake. Do you not understand that what you do out there impacts your future?” He reaches forward and grips Haru’s arms, wanting to shake sense into him. “Don’t you have a dream? Take this more seriously and I know you could-”

Haru flings Rin off of him with surprising strength. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand!” He shouts and Rin is so shocked that he can only stare at Haru, wide-eyed. “What dream? What future? It’s you who cares about all that and I’m not you! I don’t have any of that!”

Haru glares at him one last time before walking to the door where everyone from Iwatobi was standing held back by his sister.

“It’s okay, I’ll still swim the relay. It’s what I’ve come this far for.” Haru says plainly.

Ako shakes her head. “I’m trying to let you figure yourself out at your own pace, to protect you because you’ve always done the same for me.” She says while clearly holding back tears and Haru hates it because he hates making Ako cry. He immediately wishes he hadn’t said any of that, he wouldn’t have if he knew she was there.

“Ako-”

“I love you, Nii-chan.” Ako stares at him looking betrayed. “And I love you enough to say that this? This has gone too far, _Haruka_.” Angrily wiping her tears away, Ako turned to leave. “I have races to finish.” She mutters, sounding tired and drained.

“Ako.” Ayu calls out and follows her, nodding at Gou and Chigusa.

“I’ll stay for my brother.” Gou gave Haru a hard look and stomped past him to get Rin out of there.

As all his friends pile out of the changing room, Haru wonders what it was he’d done wrong.


	20. Episode 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nanase Haruka is not okay.

**EPISODE 10**

* * *

 

Ako emerged from the water and was greeted by cheering the likes of which she’s never heard before. Next to her, Maehara Nika sighs and starts clapping slowly along with everyone. Ako can’t help but let out a deliriously happy laugh as her name appears on the board.

> **Nanase Akio Iwatobi Highschool**

“Nanase Akio has set a tournament record!” The announcer said in a plain tone but it did little to numb the feeling of victory in her heart as Ayu and the rest of Iwatobi’s team cheered for her.

Before Haru’s explosion in the changing rooms, Ako got fastest time in her heat and Maehara was in a different heat so they’d be facing off at nationals while Ayu scored the fastest time in her heat for backstroke.

“Nanase-san!”

“Ako-san!”

“Ako!”

Ako turned around and grinned at the Samezuka team, waving at them. “Thanks for your support!” She shouted, her limbs still trembling from exerting so much effort.

“Good job! Good job, Nanase!” Samezuka cheered.

Around her, the girls left the pool and were slowly being replaced by boys. Ako remembered then that the men’s Butterfly was after her heat.

“That was a good race, Ako.”

Ako smiled brightly at Rin. Unable to contain her joy, she flung her arms around the red head and gave him a loud smacking kiss to the cheek. “Good luck in your heat. I’m sure you won’t need luck, though.” She said breathlessly into his ear.

“Thanks, um. But, hey, should you really be doing that?” Rin laughed but it sounded nervous, his arms wrapping hesitantly around her. “I mean, your boyfriend’s watching."

Ako let go of him, nearly slipping on the floor before Rin caught her. “Wh-What boyfriend?” Her eyes widened. “Is that what Sousuke told you? That he’s my boyfriend? He said those exact words?” She asked, freaking out a bit because Yamazaki Sousuke – the man her best friend has loved since childhood – said that to Rin – the man she’s loved since childhood – and her life is already too much of a soap opera as it is.

“Yeah-” Rin stopped to think it over, letting his arms drop from around her. “Actually, he didn’t say anything he just sort of… didn’t deny it when I mentioned it. Are you saying you guys aren’t?” It was Rin’s turn to stare at her in surprise.

Ako sighed and patted his shoulder as if to hint at it and Rin stared at her hand, understanding a hint when it comes from Ako. “You need to talk to him.”

“I will, after my heat.” Rin nods, his eyes leaving her hand and meeting her eyes. “See you on the National Stage?” He raised a hand.

Ako slapped the palm of her hand against his. “Count on it.”

-

Rin feels steadier after winning first in his butterfly heat. In total, he’d be going to nationals for both freestyle and butterfly. It still feels surreal to him that Haru wouldn’t be at nationals but at least he can always count on one Nanase to be there. This thought warms him as he faces Sousuke and tosses the soda can in his direction, staring at him sadly when he can’t catch it.

“How long has your shoulder been like this?” He asked, still staring at Sousuke’s injured shoulder.

Injured. He didn’t even realize.

“Since this morning. It’s not as bad as it looks.” Sousuke leaned forward, trying to look comfortable though the swelling around his shoulder suggested otherwise.

“Don’t lie to me.” Rin pushed and isn’t that what he was good at? Pushing? He’s always pushing. God, maybe he should stop being so pushy because he was so tired of needing to push so his best friends would talk to him. ‘ _Thank God, Ako doesn’t have anything to hide._ ’ He thought.

With a sigh, Sousuke smiled a depreciating smile. “I really can’t lie to you, can I?” He muses before telling Rin everything, about how he overtrained, about his shoulder giving up in 10th grade, about losing touch with Ayu and then with Rin, about bumping into Ako during the last regional tournament, about seeing the relay and about his dream to swim with Rin.

“I’m going to give up swimming.” Sousuke turned to face him. “But before I do, I want to truly become your friend!” He proclaimed earnestly, teal eyes burning with resolve. “ _Your_ friend, Rin.”

Rin felt intense emotion welling up and he reached out to shake Sousuke because that’s what he did when he felt helpless and frustrated and overwhelmed. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Why did you hide it? Why?” He reached out and shook him with all his strength.

With an amused and fond smile, Sousuke answered. “Because, I knew you’d cry.”

“I’m… I’m not crying.” Rin choked on a sob. “You idiot.”

“Let’s go. The relay is starting soon.” Sousuke let go of his childhood friend, letting him wipe his tears.

Rin gave him a face, what Sousuke and Ako joke is his ‘ _as Captain simply I won’t allow this_ ’ face. “What are you saying? You can’t swim in your condition. If you push yourself then you’ll never be able to swim again!” He yelled.

“Fine by me, that’s what I’d intended from the start.” Sousuke grinned.

“No way, I won’t let you do that!” Rin insisted. Pushing. Pushing. Pushing. Always pushing. He just needed to push because if he didn’t then no one else would.

“Rin.” Sousuke gave him his own look which Rin and Ayu always joked was the ‘stop being stupid, stupid!’ look. “We were finally able to form a team with Nitori and Mikoshiba. Let me swim.”

“No.” Rin retorted.

Sousuke sighed as if _Rin_ was the one being impossible. “I promise, I’ll swim it all the way through. I want to swim.” He pleaded. “I want to swim in a relay with all of you.”

And when Nitori and Momo arrived, he knew the argument was lost.

“Rin, show it to us too.” They all said with a united force that made Rin gape at them in awe. “A sight we’ve never seen before.”

‘ _Ah, so that’s what it feels like to be pushed._ ’ Rin thought with a smile as he entered the pool area with his team. ‘ _It feels nice._ ’

-

“Sousuke!”

Right, with Rin out of the way, there was still one person he needed to talk to.

Sousuke turned around and came face to face with Tachibana Ayumu. It was finally time for them to talk.

“Is this the part where you tell me you don’t feel how I feel?” Ayu laughs, a nervous and unsure little chuckle and it’s so out of character for her because she’s always been consistent Ayu. Reassuring Ayu. She’s the one you turn to whenever you don’t have the answers straight.

Sousuke steps forward. “A-”

“I’m not like you or Rin. I… I don’t feel that way about swimming. Like I could do it for the rest of my life. I’ve always thought it was something Ako would do not me. But-” She bit her lip. “When we were in middle school, swimming with you, I thought about it. That was when I knew.” She explained.

“Tachibana.” Sousuke tried to cut in.

“Let me finish.” She gave him a look and he shut his mouth quickly.

Breathing in deeply, green eyes met teal. “I’ve never felt that way about anyone. I’ve never compromised myself for anyone like that, not even Ako. And I was terrified but it was less terrifying than when I found out we’d not see each other every day anymore. And you know what?

 “I’ve not stopped thinking about you _since_.” She said, her eyes filled with tears and her voice breaking.

“Ayu.” Sousuke tried to step forward but he was met with an armful of quietly crying Ayu.

“I just had to say it.” She muttered, gripping his clean shirt in her fists. “It’s okay if you don’t-”

“Say what?” Sousuke asked.

Ayu, shocked by just how stupid that question was, looked up at the much taller boy. “Wh-What I told you?” She tried.

Sousuke blinked at her innocently. “What did you say?” He asked.

Something about the way he said it made Ayu’s heart flutter and she immediately started speaking again. “I love-”

Before she could finish, Sousuke had surged forward, cupping her cheek and pressing chapped and heated lips to hers. The fluttering in her chest turned into a storm of love and hope and sheer relief. By the time they separated, Ayu almost didn’t catch his reply.

“I love you, too.”  
  


* * *

\- _Regionals, Relay_ -

* * *

 

Ako, Ayu, Gou, and Chigusa watched as the boys lined up for the relay, a bit sad that their team didn’t make it to regionals. “Who are we even cheering for?” Chigusa turned to give the other three a knowing look.

“It’s easy for you because you’re not personally invested in anyone from Samezuka!” Gou pouted. “Ako, Ayu.” She nodded. “It’s okay to cheer for them as long as we cheer for our side more, right?”

Ayu and Ako nod, accepting this stipulation.

And then, Makoto and Momo started kicking.

“Go Makoto!” They all shouted, their voices raised to out-yell Samezuka’s entire swim team. Momo had an advantage with his strong dolphin kick but Makoto’s broad strokes are quicker so they hit the wall at nearly the same time.

Nagisa’s exchange was perfect and Ako winces when Ai hits the water later than him. He hasn’t synced up enough with Momo to pull off a good exchange like Nagisa did but Ai makes up for it with his incredible stamina, putting all his energy into the last burst and keeping up with Nagisa in spite of Nagisa’s talent for extending his arms better during the last leg.

Rei dove first but it was clear that Sousuke’s superior technique would put him ahead as they reached the turn. Except, Sousuke’s momentum slowed to a near stop that put them all on edge. Sousuke’s shoulder was beginning to act up and the silence was a damning soundtrack to the end of his dream.

“Sou-” Ako whispered but was startled by Ayu’s shout.

“Sousuke!” She yelled, the entire Samezuka team whipping around to stare at her.

Mikoshiba Seijuro stood up and yelled at his former team, urging them to cheer for their teammate. And past the sound of rhythmic shouting, Rin’s voice pierced through the noise.

“ ** _SOOOOUSSSUKEEE!_** ” He screamed.

Sousuke emerged from the water and returned to executing his flawless technique, gaining the time he’d lost back and catching up to Rei with a lot of effort. His hand hit the wall a second after Rei and he flung his swim cap off. “ ** _Riiiin!_** ”

Then it’s Haru and Rin, hitting the turn at exactly the same time.

Ako watches in silence as they race, watching the strain they’re both under, and admiring Haru’s desire to win translating into beautifully executed technique. ‘ _You don’t know how much you love swimming, Haru._ ’ She thought as each team started excitedly yelling for their swimmer. ‘ _If you did, you’d know that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life._ ’

“Haaaaruuuu!”

“Haru-chaaan!”

“Haruka-senpaiii!”

“Rin-senpaaaiiiii!”

“Riiiin-senpaaaai!”

“Riiiiin!”

Haru’s dolphin kick puts him ahead of Rin but Rin is quick to make up for it with the skills he’d learned during Haru’s sabbatical from swimming. When they touch the wall, the television cameras are focused on their hands and Ako’s eyes widen.

“We won.” She gasps.

> **1  Iwatobi Highschool Swim Club**
> 
> **2  Samezuka Academy Swim Club**

Ayu stood on the railing reminiscent to the way Ako did in prefecturals and took a deep breath. “That there is Yamazaki Sousuke and he did an amazing job today!” She shouted. “Good job! Good job, Sousuke!” She cheered.

“Good job! Good job, Yamazaki!” The Samezuka swim team echoed along with some of the other schools and audience members.

Ako stared at Ayu and smiled. “That’s a really nice thing to do, Ayu.”

“Thanks.” Ayu laughed sheepishly. “I’m pretty proud of my boyfriend.”

“Eh.” Ako blinked before letting out a loud shriek of shock and excitement. “EHHHH? Ayu-chan and Sousuke are finally together?! Sousuke is finally Ayu-chan’s boyfriend? Ayu-chan got a boyfriend before _me_????” She shouted.

Ayu laughed at Ako who continued to mourn over her lack of a love life. “Well, I mean, I’m older than you so what did you expect?” She teased.

“B-Boyfriend?” Makoto called out from below. “Ayu has a-” He said before promptly turning to shake Haru and babble about when it was that his twin became a young lady.

“This was a mistake.” Ayu said with a sigh.

She wouldn’t have it any other way, though.

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, Iwatobi Highschool_ -

* * *

 

“One last thing.” Sousuke muttered to himself as he waited outside of Iwatobi Highschool. ‘ _I owe them this much. Nanase is important for Rin’s future._ ’ He thought. ‘ _And it’s something I can do for Nanase Ako, too._ ’

Out of the corner of his eye, Sousuke catches sight of Nanase Haruka and calls out to him. “Nanase.” He grins at the way his eyes widen in surprise. It’s not easy to pry any emotion from Haru and shocking him is always satisfying. “Come with me for a bit.”

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Nanase House_ -

* * *

 

‘ _I’m going to a University in Tokyo._ ’

Haru slammed the door to his room shut, curled up in his bed and stared out his window.

‘ _If it’s just that you can’t find a dream for yourself, I… would want you to find one._ ’

No, it can’t be true. He could accept Rin leaving, Rin’s always had big dreams. Rin already left once. Haru expected that of him.

‘ _The truth is that you want to find a dream too! You should find that dream and go flying into the world to follow it! You have the ability to do that!_ ’

He never expected this from Makoto. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Makoto would _move forward_ and leave Haru behind.

‘ _You have incredible ability so you need to stop wasting time. Take a step **forward**!_ ’

Yamazaki Sousuke’s voice echoes in Haru’s head and he winces.

Haru knows he’s talented, he’s not stupid. When he swims, his body is fluid and natural in the water. It always made him feel safe. However, moving forward. It feels like an impossible task. The way forward, in Haru’s mind, is foggy and uncertain and scary. It makes him want to submerge himself in the deep blue of the pool and never want to get out.

No, he doesn’t need to step forward. And no one can make him. He’s fine as he is. There’s no need for anything to change-

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the Obon Festival with everyone?” Ako asked, in a low tone she used when she didn’t want to startle him.

Right, Ako. His little sister.

Just looking at her hurts now.

“No one is making sense.” Haru answered, scooting over so that she could sit next to him on the bed.

Ako, despite making it very clear that she doesn’t agree with Haru’s attitude, sits next to him and pulls his arm around her shoulders for warmth. “If you think there’s a problem with everyone then maybe you’re the only one with a problem and everyone else is just being rational.” She suggested.

‘ _You’re not fine! That’s why we’re all telling you this! Nagisa and Rei and Rin… and **me**. It’s because we all love you because we all care about you._ ’ Makoto had said in a heartbreaking tone that made Haru sick to his stomach.

“How am I supposed to know what to apologize for if you won’t tell me what I did?” Haru groaned in frustration, pulling away from Ako.

“The fact that you’re asking that means you’re not ready to make that apology.” Ako held tight to his arm. “I wish I could find the words to help you, Ainiki.”

Relenting, Haru rubbed Ako’s arm soothingly. “Then tell me what I did, Ako.” He asked, practically begged as he stared into her azure eyes.

“That’s my choice, Haru. I never forced you to do anything you didn’t want but I expected you to make a _choice_.” She tried to explain but the blank look on Haru’s face made it clear that he didn’t get it. “What was it you used to say? Unchanging sky, unchanging sea-”

“Unchanging nothing.” Haru finished.

“Yes, and then Makoto would say-” Ako nodded.

“They may look like they don’t change but they always are.” Haru turned to find Ako staring at him meaningfully. “What?” He asked.

With a sigh, Ako rolled until she was lying down next to him. “Nothing, Nii-chan. Just something for you to think about.” Extending her hand, she beckoned him to sleep. “I had a nightmare about the big bad global warming, Nii-chan.” She smiled.

Taking her hand, he pulled a pillow between them and laid down next to her. “I guess it can’t be helped.” His eyelids fluttered shut and he fell asleep to the sound of Ako’s quiet snoring.


	21. Episode 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mythical trip to Australia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I wrote that scene with Rin's Homestay back when I was writing Episode 2-3 so that's when I knew this fic would be a MONSTER.

**EPISODE 12**

\- _Iwatobi, Nanase House_ -

* * *

 

 

Haru wakes up to the smell of Ako’s drool and the doorbell ringing incessantly loud. “Ako, get the door.” He extended his leg to kick at his younger sister who was trying to feign sleep.

“Ainiki, go be an ainiki and get the door.” She retorted petulantly.

Haru poked his head out of the blankets and glared at her. “As the winner of our last race, I’m telling you to get the door.” He said.

“And as the person who made it to Nationals, I veto your last race winner powers. I also raise that we should have another competition to establish a new superior sibling in the house.” She smirked.

“Name your game, imouto.” Haru squinted at her dramatically.

“First to the door wins, ainiki.” Ako declared, throwing the sheets at Haru and sprinting down the hall.

Haru, not one to be messed with, dragged the sheets with him and looped them around Ako to slow her down. “Your tricks won’t overcome my experience.” He quipped.

“You’re _a year_ older than me!” With a burst of energy, Ako sped past him and slid the door open, eyes widening as she realized two things.

First, it was Matsuoka Rin.

Second, she was going to trip over the sheets and die.

Rin moved to catch her like he so frequently does but before he can Haru grabs the back of the sheet still wrapped around Ako and levels a glare at Rin.

“Ah, Rin. We need to stop doing this, huh?” She pulled herself out of the sheets and gathered them up in her arms. “And don’t even, Haru. You threw the sheets at me.” She clucked at her older brother.

“You threw them first.” He complained.

“I won the race.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Haru, who looked like he was going to retaliate, deflated and nodded numbly.

“It’s good to know even you two get into fights.” Rin chuckled, smirking when Haru glared at him again. “Anyway, sorry about the short notice, Ako. But, I’ll be stealing your brother for a couple of days.” He bowed, staring at her.

Ako gave him a critical look before seemingly understanding in that unspoken way that Ako had and nodding. “Take him for as long as you want, really. He’s just moping around anyway. The angst in this house is unacceptable.” She left, possibly to throw the sheets in the laundry, probably to pack some stuff for him.

Rin enters the house, softly muttering “shitsureishimasu” to himself and bowing so that he could take a seat at the dining area.

“Breakfast before you go?” Ako called out from upstairs and Haru was stunned at how domestic they looked.

He didn’t _like_ it.

“We have an early flight.” Rin answered.

“Ah, gotcha, I’ll make something for you guys to bring along as soon as I’m done with this.” Seconds later, Ako descends and shoves a duffel of clothes at him. “Haru, pack your underwear and passport. I need to make you guys some bentos for the trip. If you’re quick, I’ll put Saba in yours.”

Haru almost goes along with it just for the Saba but he catches the way Rin stares at Ako while she works in the kitchen and has to make a comment if only to pry Rin’s wandering eyes away from his sister. “Where are we going?” He asks imperiously.

Rin ignores his tone in favor of his signature shark-tooth grin. “Australia.”

 

* * *

\- _Iwatobi, High School_ -

* * *

 

 

“So Rin decided to take Haru to Australia with him for the break.” Ayu sighed. “I’m a little skeptical about it but I have a feeling I might get why he did it.” She shrugged.

Gou tilted her head at Ayu. “Oh, right. You went to elementary with him and Sousuke in Sano!” She smiled, rainbows seeming to appear when she did. The Matsuoka smile was a killer.

Ayu nodded. “I didn’t really keep in touch with Rin back then but I did mail Sousuke. You know what he’s like, he’s like Rin’s helicopter mom.” She joked. “He told me some things, about how Rin struggled with English – that’s why Ako started learning – and things like Rin getting lost trying to figure out bus routes.”

“Sounds like a tough time for a kid.” Chigusa commented, eyes softening sympathetically.

“Overall, I got the feeling Australia was Rin’s rude awakening come too early and he’ll want to give Haru that same jumpstart into reality he got as a kid.” Ayu concluded.

“I think you might be right, Ayu-chan.” Gou said quietly, looking like clarity had struck her and she could finally breath. “If that’s the case… I hope Haruka-senpai can see the wide world and gain perspective.”

 

* * *

- _Airport_ -

* * *

 

 

Ako walked with Rin and Haru to the departures hall, enduring the damning silence that occurred between the two. Their flight was would begin check ins in a few minutes and they’d arrived just in time.

Putting the bentos down on a nearby chair, Ako hugged her brother. “Try to have _some_ fun, Nii-chan.” She teased.

Haru found it in himself to smile just a little. “I won’t kill Rin, for you.” He jibed.

Ako peeked over at Rin who obviously heard Haru’s comment. “That’s fair.”

“You’re both savage.” Rin snickered at them.

Haru gave him a look that was 100% unamused.

“Don’t be like that, Rin. You know you love me.” She joked before realizing how wrong that quip sounded and promptly turning into a tomato. “Are we too old for hugs?” She asked, extending her arms in Rin’s direction.

“Yes.” Haru said sharply.

Rin stepped forward anyway and wrapped his arms around the shorter girl. “I’ll take care of him for you.” He reassured, letting go of her reluctantly.

“Take care of yourself for me too.” Ako hesitated, her hands still holding onto Rin’s arms. With a burst of confidence, she tilted her head up to press her lips against Rin’s cheek.

Rin’s grown accustomed to her doing that but his heart still beats rapidly in his chest and there is redness in his cheeks in an instant. “Together in Australia for the Olympics?” He raised a hand and smirked at her.

Ako slaps a hand against Rin’s, grinning. “You know it.”

 

* * *

- _Sydney, Bondi Beach_ –

* * *

 

 

Haru is normally not very stubborn about where they went back home. He lets himself be dragged along by Makoto, Ayu, Ako, Nagisa. He lets himself be dragged by Rin to Australia and suddenly he’s on edge. Everything is different and different was what he’d been trying to avoid. But, the empty feeling in his chest is much scarier than his fear of change.

Even the ocean in this far off place feels different to him.

‘ _Unchanging sky, unchanging sea, unchanging nothing._ ’ He remembers Ako telling him.

“I figured a place where you could see the ocean would help you relax.” Rin said in a tone reminiscent to Ako’s. It’s considerate and kind but still stern. “Lets go in.” He invited, toeing off his shoes.

Haru dropped petulantly onto the sand. “I don’t feel like it.”

“What? Who is it that’s usually quick to start taking their clothes off?” He teases.

Haru raised a brow at him and the edges of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Ako?” He snarks, snickering quietly to himself at Rin’s reddening face.

“Shut up. I was going to say that it’s odd… you agreeing to come here with me. I was pretty sure you’d say no. Did something happen?” He asked, trying to school his expression into one that’s more serious.

“Ako happened.” He fibbed. “I’m sure _you_ can understand that.”

Ignoring the obvious jibe at his… _feelings_ for Ako, Rin stared down at him. “Did you and Makoto have a fight or something?” He stared at him, noting the way Haru flinched and looked away as if scalded. “Bingo, huh? It’s just one little fight. Sousuke and I fight all the time…” His eyes widen and he turns to look at Haru with an understanding smile. “Ako and I fight too.”

Haru feels a blush creeping up his cheeks and glares at Rin. “It was my… first fight.” He deflated, burying his head in his arms.

“Ah, Makoto decided his post-graduation plans. He said he wanted to tell you as soon as possible, you know?” He offered but Haru didn’t answer, didn’t look appeased by that.

Rin breathed in. It’s about time Haru knew about his experience in Australia.

“When I first came to this country, looking at the water relaxed me. I talked big before I left Japan. But, honestly, I was really anxious at first. A city I didn’t know. I didn’t even know the language.” He mused. “Even though I’d known all of that from the start, of course. But, when I came here and saw the ocean I felt calmer.” He smiled, gesturing to the ocean with a wide sweep of his arms.

“Because, I knew that beyond it everyone was there. You, Nagisa, Makoto, Ayu, Sousuke, Ako.” He paused. “My friends were there. I felt like it connected me to you guys.”

Settling down in the sand next to one of his oldest friends, Rin sighed. “I never really told you about my time in Australia, have I?” He closed his eyes, taking in the sea breeze as he recounted his first year moving to another country.

“I had a homestay and went to school here. In the beginning, I could barely understand English and had a pretty tough time. I went to school during the day and afterward, I’d go train under my coach. There were all these amazing players from around the world and I learned...” He swallowed thickly. “I learned that even though I was fairly fast in Japan, it didn’t mean much at all here. It was the first time I’d hit a wall.”

Haru stiffened next to him.

But, Rin pushed. Haru needed him to and Makoto had asked him to so he would because he’d do anything for his friends. “The more I swam, the more I saw how big the gap was between me and the others. Was this really all the strength I had? No matter how hard I tried, was it useless against all these prodigies?” He looked over at Haru. “Were my dreams only dreams?”

“I’ve heard enough.” Haru snapped. “I get that while I stayed in Iwatobi, you saw all kinds of things and had all kinds of experiences.”

Rin stared at him and nodded. “There’s one more place I want to stop by.”

 

* * *

\- _Sydney, Rin’s Homestay_ -

* * *

 

 

An Australian couple – Russell and Lori – greets both him and Rin warmly. Haru feels oddly at home in their home, probably because he could see Rin in every corner growing up and making a life for himself. The dog is by far his favorite part of the entire house and he contemplates getting a dog for himself and Ako.

“Dinner’s ready, Haru! Please come in.” Lori beckons and Haru sends a silent thank you to Ako for always sharing her knowledge on basic English despite Haru always telling her to stop.

When he sits at the table, there’s a spread that reminds him so much of when him and Ako prepare dinner together. It makes his heart clench in his chest. He could feel the care that’s been put into the meal and judging by Rin’s face, Rin feels it too.

“Haru’s just as you described him, Rin!” Haru understands bits and pieces but catches the words ‘cool’ and ‘water’ so Rin must have described him as somewhat cool and then something related to water.

Haru’s face was passive but his eyes had a knowing glint which obviously flustered Rin. “Are you sure you don’t have a type?” Haru teased quietly in Japanese, trying to make it sound like he was asking what they meant.

Russell and Lori don’t suspect a thing and Rin stares at him in warning. Except, they keep telling Haru about how much Rin admires Haru and Haru has to stop himself from snickering as Rin grew more and more agitated. It seemed to Haru that the couple was concerned about Rin’s depression after he hit wall after wall. Rin apologizes for it but the couple only urge them to keep eating, clearly happy that Rin looked much better.

“I cooked mackerel. You like it, right? In Japanese, it’s called ‘ _saba_ ’?” Russell gestured to the mackerel with a smile.

“Yes. Thank you.” Haru said, somewhat confidently, before helping himself.

“So, mate…” Russell gave Rin a toothy grin similar to his own sharkish one. Haru always thought Rin got it from his dad but it looks like his stay in Australia reinforced it. “You got a girlfriend back in Japan?” He asked.

Haru understood only two things in that sentence and that was girlfriend and Japan largely because Ako listened to English pop music at home and was proficient at the language. Nevertheless, he’d have a bit of fun with Rin. While Rin was spluttering, Haru gathered his courage and answered. “Her name is Ako.” He smirked as both Australians started asking Rin all sorts of questions he didn’t understand while Rin glared at him.

“And who is this Ako character?” Lori asked.

“My sister.” Haru said glibly but it was enough to set them off again.

“Your best friend’s sister!” Russell laughed loudly and happily at the information. “Do you have a photo?” He asked, making a camera motion with his hands for Haru’s sake.

Rin looked like he was going to pass out from sweating too much. “I don’t have one right now but I’ll send you guys one.” He said, giving in to their cooing and cawing.

“Here.” Haru cut in yet again, showing them a picture of a young Ako back when Rin first arrived at Iwatobi to swim a relay with Haru. Ako’s short hair was in pigtails and her swimsuit had dolphins on them.

Lori and Russell smiled at Rin. “Isn’t she a little young for you, Rin?” They asked.

Rin pulled Haru’s phone around to face him and went pale. “That’s from a long time ago- Here.” He pulled out his own phone and started scrolling, his face bright red. “Here’s a more recent photo.” He said, handing his phone over for Lori and Russell to inspect.

Lori smiled at the picture. It was a shot of Ako and Gou fingers extended into peace symbols and holding up chocolates they both received when they visited Samezuka for the Maid Cafe from Hell last year. At that point, they had lots of admirers and even in a maid costume Rin managed to glare some of Gou’s suitors away while Haru’s look of disdain shooed away Ako’s.

“She’s beautiful.” Lori cooed, swiping to the right only to find that the entire folder was a collection of pictures of this _one_ girl. “You’re really smitten with this one, aren’t you?” She winked, scrolling through picture after picture while evading Rin’s grasp, staring at a picture of Ako emerging from the swimming pool victoriously with the scoreboard displaying her name next to the number 1.

Looking over her shoulder, Russell smiled at the picture. “Is she a very talented swimmer?” He asked.

“The best in her age bracket. She’s been scouted by almost every school in Japan and some abroad.” Rin grinned brightly, always up to praising Ako.

“Hang on, is this the same Nanase Ako that you used to talk about?” Russell’s eyes widened.

Rin laughed sheepishly. “Hey, her brother is sitting next to me.” He warned and sure enough, Haru was glaring at him.

“Is she a good person, Haru?” Lori asked, turning her attention to Haru.

The older Nanase turned to Rin to translate.

Rin sighed. “They’re asking if Ako’s a good person.”

Haru nodded and looked seriously at the two Australians. “She is the best person. Rin is lucky.” He answered in broken English before going back to devouring the mackerel.

Russell and Lori smiled at each other again. “We’re glad.” Russell said.

 

* * *

- _Sydney, The Push Hotel_ -

* * *

 

 

The ride to the hotel was pleasant enough. Lori asked some more questions about Ako. Haru got to tease Rin some more both in English and in Japanese. The whole… one bed in their hotel room fiasco puts a damper on the good mood Rin’s so carefully cultivated since arriving at the Brown residence.

“I can’t believe this…” Rin complained, his back pressed against Haru’s.

Haru huffed, pulling the comforter up to cover his face. “It won’t matter once you’re asleep.” He hides a smirk. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Ako you had a crush on me when we were kids.” He teased.

“You _know_ who I had a crush on when we were kids.” Rin sighed, resigned to his fate. “But… Haru, I really did admire you. I still remember the day we first met.”

“Hey, I have Ako on speed dial so don’t even think about it.” Haru warned.

“I’m not trying to flirt with you- Makoto would kill me. No! I just- I remember thinking that there was someone more amazing than me. That I wanted to be able to swim like you. So, I want you to know that’s why it’s hard for me to imagine not having you ahead of me like you always are. Without you, I don’t know where to aim for, you know?” He shrugged.

Haru was silent for a couple of seconds. “I remember it too, that tournament.”

Emboldened by Haru’s comment, Rin turned so he was facing the ceiling. “Do you remember that freestyle race back at prefecturals when we set a new tournament record together?” He asked.

“Yeah?” Haru urged him on, his curiosity betraying him.

“I was testing you then. I wanted to see if that was really the farthest you could go. And when I sensed you coming up from behind me, I knew for sure… that you were going to enter the same world as me. During that race… didn’t you feel something too?”

Haru was quiet again and Rin felt his eyelids drooping before Haru answered. “The same world as you. And the same world as Ako.” He muttered.

‘ _Just you both wait! I’m going to swim the female’s freestyle and I’m going to beat the tournament record and you both can just eat my spray at the Olympics!_ ’ Ako screamed at prefecturals, breaking the tournament record and almost reaching their time.

Rin smiled. “Yes, the same world as Ako, too.”

 

* * *

- _Sydney, Aquatic Center_ -

* * *

 

 

‘You said you didn’t have a dream right now, right?’ Rin had asked him while they waited for their train. ‘But, what would you do if you had one?’

Standing in front of Australia’s Aquatic Center, Haru felt a sense of comfort and anxiety that he’d never felt before. “This is where the best swimmers in the world race each other. It’s what I wanted to show you.” Rin informed and Haru’s sure he said much more than that but it’s drowned out by how majestic the pool looked in Haru’s eyes.

“Lets swim, Haru.”

Haru wants to pinch himself because the moment he set eyes on the pool he knew he wanted to swim in it.

“There’s a recreational pool. But, no one without the guts to swim with the National Team would swim in this pool.” Rin smirked. “What do you want to do?”

The answer was obvious.

Standing on the sixth starting block, one of the Australian team members stepped up next to him, snapping on his goggles and swim cap. “G’day, mate.” He greeted before diving into the pool.

Around him, Haru’s view changed. The sun was bright in the sky and the bleachers were full of people cheering. Distantly, he saw Ako in her own swimsuit, medals draped over her neck. Ayu was waving excitedly with Sousuke next to her. And, on Ako’s other side, Makoto was smiling proudly, his eyes full of adoration.

‘ _I want to swim. Forever._ ’ Haru thought, reaching out to his friends. ‘ _I want to keep swimming._ ’

“Haru!” Rin called out, breaking Haru free of his daydream. “We should go, too.”

The dream he’d found pulsing brightly in his heart, Haru smiled.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

 

* * *

\- _Sydney, Bay_ -

* * *

 

 

The sun was setting framed by beautiful yellows and violets as Rin and Haru stared out at the ocean. Across them, singing could be heard faintly from the Sydney Opera House. Haru shut his eyes and breathed deeply.

“The coach who trained me while I was studying in Australia wrote to me recently.” Rin said, quietly. “He asked if I’d consider swimming here again.”

Haru’s eyes opened.

‘ _But then, Ako…_ ’ Haru thought.

“Before we head back to Japan, I intend to see him and ask him formally to let me join his team.” Rin stood up, stretching and standing next to Haru. “Even though I took one heck of a detour. I was finally able to make it back here. And this time, I won’t lose.”

‘ _I wouldn’t be surprised if you were in Australia this time next year._ ’ Ako had said at the beginning of the school year, leaning over the edge of the pool with Sakura petals scattered around her.

“It’s time for revenge.” He grinned.

“Rin.” Haru called out, making eye contact with the redhead. “Your feelings for Ako, you need to tell her about them… before you go.”

Rin blinked in surprise. “Haru, I- I can’t tell her that-”

“You helped me find my dream. Don’t be a hypocrite, pursue yours.” Haru scolded, frowning at Rin.

With a startled laugh, Rin tilted his head at Haru. “I’ll confess if you confess to Makoto.”


	22. Episode 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finale~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a bit of research actually went into this story (I know right, I’m shocked too). Such as the following:
> 
> > Oita is where they held the Japan National Swimming Competitions for Highschool level during 2008 (when Free! supposedly occurred). The name of the event was チャレンジ!おおいた国体 (Charenji! Ooita Kokutai) and their slogan was ここから未来へ 新たな一歩 (Koko kara Mirai e Aratana Ippou). Originally, I wrote that Nationals happened in Oita but given the landmarks from the episode, I changed it to Yokohama.
> 
> > I couldn’t find the stadium that they swam in for Nationals anywhere but it seems to be based on the shape of Japan’s International Stadium while the inside looks roughly like Yokohama International Swimming Pool.
> 
> > I also looked into the bridge they saw and while a lot of bridges in Japan have the same general shape it seems to resemble Yokohama Bay Bridge. I also checked for a Ferris Wheel and there is one across the bridge called Cosmo Clock 21. 
> 
> >You can also see that the boardwalk in Yokohama looks like the one they were walking on together (when Rei and Nagisa started ugly crying). I decided not to search for the restaurant mostly because when I tried there were over 25 hits.

**EPISODE 13**

\- _Yokohama, Yokohama International Swimming Pool_ -

* * *

  

Haru and Rin return to Japan two days before Nationals. Makoto is at the airport waiting to head over to Yokohama with them. His and Haru’s reunion is at first awkward but painfully sweet. Rin is a little relieved that Ako isn’t at the airport to pick them up but also disappointed. It felt weirdly like a bad omen for his confession. Not that he was going to confess, of course. Haru would have to confess to Makoto first.

Taking his sister’s happiness very seriously, however, Haru didn’t waste his time.

After opening up to everyone about his dream, Haru found himself watching as swimmers from other schools practiced with Makoto by his side.

Makoto seemed to always gravitate to his side.

“Look, it’s Ako!” Makoto pointed out.

Haru leaned against the bars, spotting Ako near the center of the pool already being challenged by Maehara Nika to a race. They both stood at the starting block and with Katsuragi Kaede timing them, dove into the pool. Maehara put up a decent fight but it was a 100 meter pool and Ako was always stronger in longer distances so she lost by a considerable margin.

“She really has a shot, doesn’t she?” Makoto mused. “The national stage. Everyone is so fast.”

Haru bit the inside of his cheek nervously before speaking. “M-Makoto.” He internally winced at how dumb he sounded but pushed on. “I… said something… really awful to you before.” He tightened his grip on the railing and turned to face his best friend. “I’m sorry.”

“Haru.” Makoto leaned away from the railing and smiled, shaking his head. “I’m the one who’s sorry for not being able to tell you about my plans.” He apologized and it made Haru want to interject because Makoto wasn’t at fault at all. But, Makoto had more to say and Haru wanted to hear him out before speaking.

“I felt like I wasn’t cut out for competitive swimming.” He started, telling Haru about how he’d planned to go to community college since he had nothing in particular he wanted to do. Understandable enough, Haru had noticed that Makoto didn’t plan on going into swimming professionally. It was a small part of why Haru hadn’t wanted to go into that world. And then Makoto started talking about coaching and his face lit up.

Makoto leaned forward against the bars, smiling. “When I taught Hayato how to swim backstroke, he told me ‘ _I’m not scared of swimming anymore! I had fun!_ ’ and it made me happy.” It was obvious, of course. Makoto couldn’t talk about it without smiling radiantly. His smile made Haru feel warm inside and recalling the way Makoto looked, effortless and beaming with pride, as he taught those kids brought a smile to Haru’s face.

“I want to join the teaching side of the swimming world. And to do that, I’m going to university in Tokyo. That’s the dream I’ve found for myself.” Makoto declared.

Haru edged closer to his best friend, shoving his hands under his arms so he wouldn’t ruin the moment by hugging him or god forbid by suddenly kissing Makoto out of the blue.

“You’ll definitely make it happen.” Haru smiled.

“Thanks.” Makoto stared at Haru fondly. “All that studying won’t be easy though!”

Haru nodded in affirmation, letting Makoto’s laughter die out before speaking again. “There’s another thing I needed to tell you.” Haru breathed deeply, turning to look at Makoto.

“Haru?” Makoto straightened, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

With one last deep breath, Haru spoke. “I love you.” Makoto’s eyes widened and Haru felt panic rising in the back of his mind, words pouring out before he could stop himself. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time. You’re my best friend and I want it to be you and me forever. And I felt like maybe you wanted that too so… I’m going to go to a university in Tokyo. When I do, live together with me.” Haru felt his face reddening, heat making his face feel like he was in a sauna and he did not plan to ask Makoto that. He’d been thinking about it, sure. Had he looked into offers from universities in Tokyo? Yes. But, he thought he’d have more time to ease Makoto into the idea but no, instead he’s gone and blurted it out like this and now Makoto won’t say-

“Of course, Haru!”

Haru opened his eyes. He hadn’t even realized he’d closed them. And Makoto is smiling at him but it’s a different smile, one he’d caught several times but hadn’t understood the meaning of and now he knows. It’s love.

Makoto doesn’t have to say it but he still does. “Of course, I’d want that. After all, I love you too.” He smiled.

-

Rin stared down at the text with wide eyes. “No. No way.” He near yelled.

> **I’ll allow you to kiss Ako just once before marriage because this is a special occasion.**

“Is that Nanase?” Sousuke asked, peering over Rin’s shoulder at the message. “Haru, I mean.” He clarified.

“He and Mako-” Rin spluttered.

“Ah, you said you’d confess if he did.” Sousuke smirked. “And he did.”

Rin glared up at him. “You’re one to talk. How’s Ayu?” He asked.

Sousuke’s smirk only widened. “My girlfriend and I are going out tonight. I already asked Makoto.” He said, waving around his cellphone. Under Ayu’s name was Makoto’s along with his contact number. “Judging by that text, though. I’m sure Haru would let you take Ako away from him for tonight.” He teased and good god it’s like listening to Haru.

> **Don’t be a wimp. You have no excuse. Take a step. Forward. To the person who shares your world.**

Speak of the devil.

Rin rolled his eyes. “You confess to your best friend and suddenly you’re a dating expert.” He shut his phone off and snapped his swim cap on.

“One more round, Nanase!”

“You must really love losing, Maehara.”

Ako’s voice carried across the pool area effortlessly as she began to laugh. Rin’s eyes found her like a boat to a lighthouse. He hadn’t seen Ako since he left for Australia and she looked completely at home here with top swimmers from every prefecture asking to race her. Through the crowd, Ako seemed to sense his gaze and abruptly looked back at him, waving with a wide smile on her face.

Rin looks back at her and nods, grinning.

‘ _The person who shares my world, huh?_ ’ He thinks. ‘ _Somehow, I’m not surprised._ ’

-

“Hey, Ako.” Chigusa piped up.

The boys started off in a different direction while the girls went to check out the shops. Now, each of them had bags of souvenirs and some clothes on each arm. Ako’s not used to this, girls activities. She and Ayu are very simple but they usually do get dragged out from time to time for girls day out with Chigusa and Gou. It’s nice to be able to do girl time.

“Yeah?” Ako blinked at Chigusa. She doesn’t normally feel so comfortable around her and Ayu, opting to talk to them through Gou so she doesn’t want to startle her. Though, the way Chigusa reminds Ako of Rei often endears her to the girl.

Chigusa gives her an unreadable look before speaking. “Do you believe in soulmates?”

Ako’s heart skips a beat. “I guess that depends on how you’d describe a soulmate.” She answers. Honestly, she doesn’t know because the entire concept of soulmates are vague and subjective at best.

“Well, if you think about it, you and Gou-chan’s brother have been friends for almost your whole life, right?” She points out. “You walked the same path. It diverged for a while but when you met again, you clicked perfectly. I don’t know, there’s something about the way you two resonate. It’s like you’re two parts of a whole.” Realizing how weird it sounded, Chigusa started stammering.

“I get it.” Ako smiled at her, patting her arm. “Rin and I aren’t the same but we’re also alike in that we’ve both been headed in the same direction.” She clarified. “Ayu and Sousuke kind of have the same dynamic, don’t they? Rei and Nagisa. Haru and Mako.” She said, eyes sparkling.

“That said, though. I think we’ve kind of all known all along that you and Rin would happen.” Gou piped up with a familiar grin.

Damn Matsuokas.

“Thanks Gou-chan, Hana-chan.” Ako says instead, the ache in her heart is still a dull throb but hope shines behind the pain desperate to break free. “I think you might just be right.”

-

Rin feels a bit nauseous. He hasn’t seen Ako all morning, only catching glimpses of her here and there, and it’s starting to weigh on him that after one clumsily aborted confession he was finally going to take that final step he needs before diving into his future.

He knows he could always leave without telling Ako but Haru is right. He doesn’t want to step forward unless Ako is by his side. Not again.

The medley relay starts and the entire stadium holds its breath.

Rin watches as each of them swim and push each other on to greater heights and he can’t help but be proud of them, Haru’s ultimate team. When Haru hits the wall, it’s to heart pounding applause. The scouts are impressed, Iwatobi students are all standing and cheering in excitement, and in the midst of all of this Haru smiles surrounded by his team.

Their 6th Place finish matters very little compared to this moment they shared together.

-

Ako is calm as she walks out with Maehara Nika behind her. Iwatobi and Samezuka students alike cheer as she arrives and she smiles up at them, her heart pounding in her ears as she waved at them all.

“Show them your beautiful free, Ako!” Rei and Nagisa shout. Chigusa and Gou pipe up right after them with a “Wipe the floor with them, Ako-chan!”.

“Ako! Do your best!” Her parents and the Tachibanas add, with Ran and Ren waving a sign that read ‘ _Swim, Ako!_ ’ which they’d brought along with other signs for Makoto, Haru, and Ayu.

Samezuka, not one to be easily beaten, cheers “Let’s go! Let’s go, Nanase!” surprising all the other schools who immediately start muttering ‘ _isn’t she from Iwatobi High?_ ’. From up in the bleachers, Seijuro winks. Next to him Momo, Ai, Sousuke, and Ayu - with her arm linked to Sousuke’s - cup their hands around their mouths and yell.

Ayu swam a good run in her own heat and placed second overall which Sousuke, of course, was incredibly proud of. The girl, noticing the wrinkle of confusion between Ako’s brows, gestured to the stairs where Samezuka’s Captain emerged still dripping no doubt from his last heat of the day. Catching sight of Ako, he raised a finger to the air and she grinned. Of course, he placed first. “Together at the Olympic stage?”

“Watch your back, I’ll be there before you can blink!” She retorted.

Rin smiled, thankfully the distance would hide the subtle pink hue of his cheeks. “I’m counting on it.” He said, putting his hand down and joining Ayu and Sousuke who looked ready to tease him for the display.

“ _AAAAAKOOOOOO!_ ”

Ako gasped, turning to look at her brother so fast that she almost hurt Maehara.

Taking a deep breath, Haru yelled one more time. “Show me the free that will close the gap!” He called out.

Ako let out a startled laugh. “Just you wait, Nii-chan!”

The 5-minute whistle sounded and Ako hurried to the starting block to stretch one last time. Rolling her shoulders, Ako felt good. She’d practiced long and hard for this. She’d placed second in butterfly, but that was to be expected. It’s one of her best strokes but was slightly weaker than the freestyle she held close to her heart.

“I hope you’re not letting your boyfriend and your pep squad distract you from our race, Nanase.” Maehara taunted.

“You wish, Nika.” Ako grinned. “Let’s give them a race that will put everyone on the edge of their seats!” She extended a fist in her rival’s direction.

Maehara stared at her and smirked. “My pleasure, Ako.” She nodded, pressing her fist against Ako’s.

The second whistle sounded and they both turned to take their marks; Ako on the fifth and Maehara on the sixth. The stadium noise dimmed as Ako reached up to put on her goggles and then bent down to take her mark.

The digital counter beeped once, twice, thrice-

 

“ **SEI!** ” The crowd all shouted as ten swimmers dove in.

Ako hit the water ahead of Nika, always better at finding just the right balance and timing for her entry. And her superior dolphin kick put her at an early lead. But, Nika’s training had been focused on stroke speed, her arms making up for Ako’s strategic start. Nika had learned to pace herself over the break to make up for Ako’s superior stamina but the lack of time made her a little sloppy around the edges. It was enough, however, to keep up and reach Ako by the time they hit the turn.

Nika’s turn was flawless and much faster than Ako anticipated. In spite of Ako’s killer dolphin kick, Nika surfaced first, already making use of her stroke. With her excess stamina, Ako made her strokes longer to cover more distance making it to Nika halfway back to the other end of the pool. The last quarter had both girls paddling frantically, arms straining as they both approached the wall and extended their hands.

Above them, the horn rang out and the scoreboard cleared.

Ako broke the surface next to Nika, both girls breathing hard. Raising her arm to pull off the swim cap placed firmly on her head, they waited for the rest of the girls to finish up. One glance up at the stands proved that Iwatobi’s swim team and Samezuka’s medley relay team were missing.

“The results are in.” The announcer said through staticy speakers.

Nika got out of the pool, extending a hand to help Ako out. Ako nodded, taking her hand as the numbers began at ten counting backwards.

 

> **2  Maehara Nika  Oga South High School**

 

The girls of Oga South along with Iwatobi and Samezuka erupted in cheers, all of them chanting for their swimmers.

 

> **1  Nanase Akio  Iwatobi High School**

 

“Thank you, Ako. It was a great race and I couldn’t have come this far without you. I’m looking forward to next year.” Nika smiled, nudging Ako as she walked past her towards her to her own team.

“Ako-san!” Ai and Momo bounded forward, both congratulating and inquiring about how it felt to win in nationals. In between praise, they asked if she’d come back to Samezuka and teach them some of her techniques-

“Hey, give her space.” Sousuke’s deep voice cut past them as the man himself ushered the other two away letting Ayu have a moment with her best friend.

“Thanks, Sou.” Ako raised a brow at him suggestively.

“Oh stop.” Ayu rolled her eyes at Ako before embracing her. “I’m proud of you.”

Ako let the hug draw out for a couple of seconds before stepping back. “I’m proud of you, too. Second place _and_ a scholarship to that fancy science school in Tokyo?” She teased.

“You knew-” Ayu was surprised for a second before sighing. “I should have known I couldn’t hide it from you.” With a wink, she stepped back to let Haru celebrate with his sister.

“Mom and Dad said they’re proud beyond words.” He said blandly.

“Is Nii-chan proud?” Ako asked, head tilted to the side.

Haru doesn’t answer at first, opting to hug her and ruffle her hair. “I’m always proud of you.” He said with a small smile. “But, there’s someone else who’s prouder.”

Everyone and everything fades leaving only Ako staring as Rin approached, shark toothed grin wide as he spread his arms. Ako didn’t hesitate to jump into his embrace in their typical congratulatory fashion, both tired and wet but uncaring.

“So you got first.” Rin started.

“And _you_ got first.” Ako retorted lamely.

Rin laughs and it shakes his entire frame making Ako feel warm all over. “I thought over what I’d say all weekend and couldn’t figure out what to say but now it’s really clear in my mind. And it’s so simple, I don’t know why I thought it was hard for me to say.” He said, shifting them so that Ako’s feet touched the ground and his forehead rested against hers. “I-”

“You’re leaving for Australia.” Ako cut in. “I know, I mean. I did tell you that you’d make it there soon. I know I shouldn’t say I told you so but I pretty much to-”

Rin rolled his eyes and bowed down to press his lips against Ako’s in a chaste kiss.

Ako stared up at Rin, blinking. “You weren’t saying goodbye.”

Rin’s heart squeezes in his chest at the very notion of goodbye so he runs his fingers through Ako’s hair instead. “I love you, Nanase Ako. I never want to say goodbye to you again. And if you’ll let me, I want to face the future with you by my side.” He says with a smile that’s so genuine and adoring that it makes Ako want to pinch herself.

Ako felt tears welling up in her eyes as she raised her palm to the air. “Together, to the Olympics and to the future.” She said, azure eyes meeting red with clarity.

Rin pressed his hand against hers, slipping his fingers through hers and locking their hands together. “Count on it.”

 

* * *

- _Iwatobi, Samezuka Academy_ -

* * *

 

After long months of training, it felt good to finally be back at Samezuka. “Ah, this campus is really fancy!” Ako cheered as they all walked under the arch.

Makoto and Haru travelled home from Tokyo to visit. They’d both just moved in to their school dorms but they’d find an apartment for them both to live in soon enough.

Ayu was studying in Tokyo too but in Tokai University close to where Sousuke would start training for swimming again, ironically in the same university as Haru.

Ako was appointed Captain of the swim team and they’d gotten three new recruits including two guys and one girl, Ayumu. When Ayu found out that a girl with the same name as her was joining she'd joked that they were replacing her with a clone of herself but Ayumu only wanted to be manager. They’d miss having Ayu on the team but it would be amazing to convince her to join them in a medley.

Speaking of, Ayu nudged Ako with her elbow and gestured ahead. “It’s your boyfriend.” She teased.

Ako looked ahead and there indeed was Matsuoka Rin, his back turned and his team all wearing ridiculous paper bags with crudely drawn shark faces on them. Out of the line up, she could pick out Momo and Ai and even Sousuke off to the side but his shark face looked more indifferent than the rest.

“It’s your boyfriend.” Ako retorted, pointing to Sousuke.

Ayu, ever the sadist, raised her phone and took several pictures.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Rin announced, back turned and trying to sound ominous.

With an exasperated lift of her eyebrow, Ayu called out. “You don’t have to pretend. The word you’re looking for is Ako. You’ve been waiting for Ako.”

“NOW-” Rin interjected, ticked that Ayu had cut into his dramatic speech. “I’ll show you the most incredible sight that you’ve ever seen before, right here!” He continued, turning around and shoving the doors to the indoor pool open.

Samezuka’s Indoor Pool was blanketed by sakura petals, the soft pink making it almost look like it was snowed over. The rood was retracted letting light and sakura showers into the building and the Iwatobi crew smiled at each other before lunging into the blue - well, pink - taking their shirts and joggers off.

“Hey! Some of us are girls!” Ayu scolded, unzipping her own jacket to reveal a swimsuit underneath. “Come on, Sou!” She ambled off to the side to drag her boyfriend into the pool, falling in with him when he wouldn’t cooperate.

“We might as well, huh? Hana-chan?” Gou smiled, extending a hand out to her best friend.

“Let's do it, Gou-chan!” Chigusa took her hand and both girls canon-balled into the pool creating waves that splashed against everyone in it.

Ako set her things down, peeling off her jacket and joggers slowly to watch her friends. A shadow cast over her and she smiled as she looked up to find Rin extending his own hand out to her. Matsuokas.

“Let’s go.” He grinned.

With a grin of her own, she took off ahead of him. “I’ll race you!” She called out, Rin already on her heels. But, it was too late, she’d dived in first and didn’t look back to see if Rin jumped in after her.

Breaking the surface of the pool, sakura petals floated down to meet her bathed in bright sunlight. She turned to look for Rin but he wasn’t there. “Rin?” She called out, an ominous feeling in her gut until suddenly, arms wrap around her waist and Rin lifted her into the air.

“Ah! It’s cold-it’s cold-” She reached down to swat at him. “You jerk, put me down.”

Rin laughed, acquiescing but his arms remained wrapped around her as she sank back into the pool. “I love you.” pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Ako’s face turned red but she wrapped her own arms around his neck and whispered against his lips. “I love you, too.”

Tomorrow, they’d go their separate ways again but there wouldn’t be an end for them. The memories of those two summers were only the beginning of a lifelong bond. Moving forward, a bright future awaited them and they’d face it hand in hand, side by side.


	23. SEQUEL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe!!! There's a girl now!!! Named Ayumu!!! Is KyoAni secretly reading my fic???

Not a chapter update, but by now you probably all know that _Free! Dive to the Future_ just released Episode 1 of Free's Third Season! And so, I'm here with the good news that there will be a Sequel very soon titled **Neo Future** ~~big surprise~~. The title may be in the works for now too. I've been trying to decipher the new Opening song _"Heading to Over"_...

  

Tachiagare sora o oyogu kono yume no naka

**_In our dreams we are standing before the sky and swimming._ **

_(Idk something about dreams, the sky, and swimming)_

Osaekirenai kanjo ga afuredashite going up

**_It's overflowing, it can't be helped. Going up._ **

Tatta daihitotsu wo erabi kitte kono michi wo yubu

_**Choosing one, only the best will continue down this road** _

JUST TAKE YOUR MARKS!

Sono kizuna iya amai de

_**That kind of bond isn't good.** _

Tono nigete Answer

_**Without running away, answer.** _

 

I AM ALREADY DREADING THIS SEASON. Anyway, ignore my ham-fisted attempt at translating. I was trying to come up with a name, is what my point is. If you guys have any name ideas, please comment~ 

I hope you're all hyped for the sequel! I know I am~


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